•Tinubu
President Bola Tinubu will submit the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper to the National Assembly next week, it has been learnt.
The Senate, through its Finance Committee, is set to meet with key stakeholders in the finance sector, in preparation for the document’s submission, reports The PUNCH.
The MTEF, a legally required framework, establishes the groundwork for the national budget, guiding economic projections and policy direction.
By law, it must be presented to the National Assembly before the budget proposal.
Speaking on the anticipated submission, Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu (APC, Ekiti South), confirmed that the MTEF document would be sent next week.
He added that once work on the MTEF was completed, the President would follow with the budget presentation.
Adaramodu said, “The MTEF document will be forwarded to the National Assembly next week for review, in anticipation of the President’s budget presentation.
“We are committed to doing our best with the budget, as we have always done.”
He assured Nigerians of the Senate’s commitment to a thorough review of the 2025 budget promptly upon its presentation.
He stated, “The budget has not been submitted yet, but we expect communication from the Presidency soon.
“Just as we did with the 2024 appropriation, the National Assembly will handle the 2025 budget with utmost scrutiny and urgency, delivering appropriately to meet the expectations of Nigerians.”
Previously, the Senate indicated that the Federal Government would submit the MTEF and Fiscal Strategy Paper shortly after the President returned from his international engagements.
The House of Representatives also said it would have enough time to properly review the MTEF and the 2025 Appropriation Bill when both bills are transmitted by the President.
On October 16, 2024, a member of the House, Clement Jimbo, drew his colleagues’ attention to the fact that the 2025 budget estimates had not been presented before the National Assembly, two months before the end of 2024.
The House questioned the available time before the end of the year to thoroughly consider and pass the MTEF, FSP and 2025 budget estimates, arguing that the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 provided for the prudent management of the nation’s resources.
It also argued that Section 11(1)(b) stipulated that the Federal Government must, not later than four months before the commencement of the next financial year, cause to be prepared and laid before the National Assembly, an MTEF for the next three financial years.
The legislative body subsequently urged the federal government to immediately transmit the budget estimates and MTEF to enable it to scrutinise both documents in compliance with the January-December budget cycle.
In a telephone interview with our correspondent, deputy spokesperson of the House, Philip Agbese, said though the House wanted the Presidency to transmit the documents as soon as possible, what was important was the adequate review Nigerians expected from the parliament.
He said, “The reasoning of the parliament and that of Mr Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, is that it is not how quick and fast but the meticulous work done on the 2025 budget proposal.
“We are proud of the performances of the Ministers of Finance and Budget and National Planning. We are confident as a parliament that the MTEF will be in within a record time and Mr President will subsequently transmit the budget to the National Assembly.”
