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FEC okays N8.73tn 2019 budget estimates

Published

6 years ago

December 8, 2018

President Muhammadu Buhari is set to get National Assembly ’ s nod to present N 8 . 7 tn as budget estimates for 2019 to the legislature .
This followed the approval of the proposals by a special session of the Federal Executive Council, which sat in Abuja on Friday .

The Minister of Budget and National Planning , Senator Udo Udo – Udoma , who spoke with State House correspondents soon after the meeting rose , said within days , the President would write the National Assembly , requesting a date to lay the estimates before a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives .

Buhari and ministers had sat on the proposals from 10 . 30 am to 1 . 15 pm on Friday before they rose .

Udo – Udoma did not give details of the proposals .

However , ahead of Friday’ s meeting , the Federal Government already disclosed that next year ’ s budget would be N 8 . 7 tn , a drop from the N 9 . 12 tn approved for 2018 .

The 2019 – 2021 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper already laid before the National Assembly contained N 8 . 7 tn as the budget size for 2019 .

Earlier on October 24 , the FEC had approved the MTEF .

The minister had stated that the government expected a reduction in revenue in 2019 and opted to plan in line with the revenue in view .

For instance , he said government’ s borrowing would reduce from N 1 . 6 tn in 2018 to N 1 . 5 tn in 2019 .

As for the deficit , the minister said it would be cut down to N 1 . 6 tn in 2019 from the N 1 . 9 tn budgeted in 2018 .

The government also put the daily oil production figure at 2 . 3 million barrels .

However , with the recent fluctuations in global crude oil prices and a possible cut in supply by OPEC , it ’ s unclear whether FEC retained the 2 . 3 mbpd .

It had also recommended $ 60 as the crude oil benchmark and N 305 as exchange rate to the dollar .