Members of the House of Representatives yesterday began consideration of President Goodluck Jonathan’s 2012-2015 Medium Term Revenue and Expenditure Frameworks and Fiscal Strategy, (MTFF) proposal just as members have queried the ability of the document to improve the lives of the average Nigerian.
The lawmakers also re-emphasised the need for the executive to stop implementing the budget selectively and urged the presidency to stick with the Appropriation Act passed by the National Assembly.
Contributing to the debate, Hon. Bamidele Opeyemi (ACN, Lagos State) expressed dismay over what he described as the failure of the executive arm of government to fully comply with the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
He said, “The provisions of the Act regarding the quarterly presentation of report to the National Assembly on budget performance has not been implemented fully. Again section 33 which compelled the executive to submit to submit revenue profiles 30 days to the presentation of budget proposal has not been complied with”.
But Hon. Abike Dabiri (ACN, Lagos State) had called for serious scrutiny of the proposal especially as regards the removal of fuel subsidy because of the serious impact it would have? on the socio-economic lives of the average Nigerian.
She said: “We have a lot of work to do on this document and as such, our committees must guide us well to allow us decide on whether or not to accept the removal of fuel subsidy. And I want to advise that when we get their report, we should be given enough time to study and even consult with our constituents before debating their recommendations.”
In his opinion, Hon. Alimi Suleiman (Kano State) warned the federal government against endorsing policies of international bodies without due consideration of the impact on the lives of the people.
“My dear colleagues, the fear of Nigerians regarding this fuel subsidy removal is that the operators of our economy have fallen in love with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“The interest of Nigerians should be paramount when debating this matter and our committees in treating the matter must be guided by the spirit of patriotism”, he warned.
Deputy Minority leader Hon.? Kawu Sumaila,? questioned the sincerity of the executive to implement its policy on reducing running cost, pointing out that the legislature had already done its own part.
“National Assembly has taken steps to cut down the cost of government by cutting down its expenditure from 100 to 40 percent while the executive has not made any effort to reduce its own”, Kawu stated.
Earlier, while leading the debate, the House Majority Leader, Hon. Mulikat Adeola-Akande, explained that the principle of the bill was to present the federal government’s revenue and expenditure plans as well as its fiscal policy objectives for the next four years in the Medium Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) in line with section 11(3) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) to the House.
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According to her, the documents contained the country’s economy performance and the implications of the volatile oil prices and the downside risks to the global demand for oil, various reforms employed to keep the economy vibrant including ongoing reform in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Stock Exchange Commission in the banking industry.
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“A review of the revenue and expenditure of the 2010 budget and its deficit implication due to recurrent and capital over-budgeting. Government plans to continue with its fiscal consolidation policy of 2011 in order to mitigate the dwindling oil revenue.
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“The Executive also went ahead to state assumptions underlying the projections for both oil and non-oil revenue for the purpose of the MTEF and the revenue and expenditure profile of the government for the next four years. This will be based on a conservative benchmark price of oil between $65-$70 per barrel and any excess or windfall will be transferred at N150 per dollar to the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) while tax collections on CIT, VAT and Custom duties are expected to be improved upon”, she said.
She explained that the proposal also focused on the fiscal risk of Nigeria to be contingent upon global economic trends, global oil trends, risks to oil production and price as well as risks to non-oil revenue.
The leader urged members to consider the framework for approval, noting that government through the fiscal consolidation intends to gradually decrease domestic debt which has been on the increase for sometime, even though the country’s debt sustainability ratio (DSR), that is Nigeria’s debt to GDP is about 16.4 percent is within the World Bank/IMF recommended ration of 40 percent.
The document also shows that sectoral contributions to the country’s gross domestic products (GDP) showed that Agriculture was put at 40.6 percent for 2011, 37.9 percent for 2012 and 2013, 33 percent for 2014 and 30 percent for 2015 while income from crude petroleum and natural gas was put at 26.4 percent for 2011, 29.1 percent for 2012, 32 percent for 2013, 36.8 percent for 2014 and 38 percent for 2015.