The House of Representatives has passed the 2022–2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP).
The house passed the MTEF/FSP during plenary on Tuesday following the consideration and adoption of the report by the House Committee on Finance.
The green chamber also approved the N4.89 trillion external borrowings proposed by the Federal Government to finance the deficit in the 2021 budget.
Recall that last week Wednesday, the Senate passed the MTEF/FSP, retaining all the assumptions and projections submitted to it by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Senate retained the exchange rate of N410.15 per dollar proposed by the executive and also approved the projected Gross Domestic Product growth rate of 4.20 per cent.
On Thursday, Benjamin Kalu, the chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, was asked about the delayed passage of the MTEF/FSP which is necessary before laying of the national budget as prescribed by law.
Kalu said that the House would pass the MTEF/FSP ahead of budget laying by the President later in October.
In its report, the committee recommended that the daily crude oil production of 1.88 million barrels per day), 2.23mbpd and 2.22mbpd for 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively, be approved, ‘in view of average 1.93mbpd over the past three years, and the fact that a very conservative oil output benchmark has been adopted for the medium term in order to ensure greater budget realism’.
The panel also recommended that ‘the proposed benchmark oil price of $57per barrel for 2022 and $55 for 2023 and 2024 be approved based on oil forecast by the World Bank and consultation with the NNPC; that the exchange rate of N410.15/$ proposed by the executive for the 2022-2024 be approved; that the projected GDP growth rate of 4.20 per cent be approved; that the projected inflation rate of 13.00 per cent be also approved;
“That the fiscal deficit estimate of N5.62tn, including GOEs, also be sustained due to the Federal Government’s conservative approach to target setting and its determination to improve collection efficiency of major revenue generating agencies, while it continues to enforce the implementation of the Performance Management Framework for GOEs by ensuring that they operate in more fiscally responsible manner whilst reviewing their operational efficiencies, and costs-to-income ratios, as declared.”