The presentation of the 2017 budget to the National Assembly is already suffering delay as the executive arm is still grappling to put together the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) about one and half months to the end of the year.
The approval of MTEF is part of the prerequisite of the budget presentation to the National Assembly. In what appears a set back for the 2017 budget, Senate Leader Ali Ndume, who spoke on the Senate floor recently, said the 2017-2019 MTEF/FSP, which contained parameters for the 2017 budget, was empty and that the minister snubbed Senate’s invitation.”
In a swift reaction, however, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, expressed surprise at the accusation by the Senate leader, that he snubbed the Senate and refused to turn up for a scheduled meeting on November 1.
At an event yesterday, the federal government was still drawing up a comprehensive medium plan to incorporate the economic recovery and growth plan as part of the last stage of the preparation for the 2017 budget.
Speaking at the National Economic Retreat held in Abuja yesterday, the minister of Budget and National Planning told participants that proposals from the retreat would serve as input to the 2017 budget.
In what appears to be a rebuttal of Senate’s position that the federal government submitted an empty Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEP) to it, Udoma said the MTEP was a product of “intensive consultations with top economists, the organised private sector, civil society as well as the state governors.”
“Our intension now is to bring all this work together as part of a comprehensive medium term plan,” the minister said.
On the progress achieved so far on the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) for the 2016 budget, the minister said reforms in agriculture would help the country achieve self sufficiency in rice by 2018 and wheat by 2019.
On concerns that the country does not have an economic programme, Udoma said, “This is not true. The administration laid out a clear economic vision and direction, over the short term, in the President’s 2016 budget speech, as well as in the Strategic Implementation Plan for the 2016 budget.”
He lamented that most of this year, Nigeria was grappling with a triple shock of prices, production and power.
“Quite unlike the situation in 2008, the economy has not been so easily able to shrug-off the triple shock,” he said.
He said the federal government was constantly looking at ways to develop and build social safety nets to mitigate the effects of currency weakness and repricing of petroleum products.
The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, had on October 26 said the federal government was speeding up all processes for the presentation of the 2017 budget to avoid delays that characterised that of 2016.
Fielding questions from newsmen at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa Abuja, Mrs. Ahmed said as at then the preparation of the 2017 budget was at an advanced stage.
“The 2017 budget preparation is at an advanced stage. The Economic Management Team has reviewed it extensively. The next step is that it is going to be brought to the Federal Executive Council for approval. Thereafter, it will be sent to the National Assembly,” she said.
The minister said the target was to have the 2017 budget approved within 2016 so that implementation starts from the first month of next year.
“We are targeting to, with the co-operation and assistance of the National Assembly have it approved this year so that we will start implementation in January next year,” she said.
The MTEF and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) form the foundation for the 2017 budget as provided for in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 and must be presented to the legislature to be passed into law.
A statement by the media adviser to the minister, Akpandem James, indicated that Udoma received the letter from Senator Ndume inviting him for a meeting with the Senate leadership but that the meeting was rescheduled.
“The minister said the meeting was eventually moved by agreement and wondered why Senator Ndume would go on the floor of the upper legislative chamber to say he failed to turn up, when he was aware that the meeting was rescheduled,” the statement said.
The statement said the minister did not blame the National Assembly for the delay in presentation of the 2017 budget.
