The Senate has directed the managers of the country’s economy, to submit report of the performance of the 2024 budget implementation and expectations for the implementation of capital component of 2025 budget within two weeks.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa (Niger East), gave the directive after about one and half hours closed door meeting with the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, Accountant General of the Federation, Samsudeen Ogunjimi and Director- General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu.
This was as the nation’s economic team told the apex legislative assembly that presentation of budgetary proposals for 2026 fiscal year to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu would be delayed.
According to Senator Musa, the Committee resolved that presentation of Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) for 2026 to 2029 fiscal years, could only follow after submission of the requested reports to it by the economy managers on the 23rd of October.
He said: “We have had the position at which the 2024 budget is, and what the position also of the 2025 budget. And the expectations we are having for the ministry to, as a matter of urgency, bring the MTEF for 2026 to 2029. And the minister has briefed us, and we have collectively agreed that we are making progress, but we need to make more progress.
“We have heard from the Accountant General, we have heard from the Director of Budgets, where we are with the budgets. The payments that have so far been released, the warrants that have so far been signed. And also, regarding the 2025 authority to incur the expenditure for agencies to be able to release their capital projects.
“We have all heard that, and we have agreed that we are making progress. And we expect that, with what Mr. President has done just this week, sending a letter to the National Assembly, requesting for more approvals to loans, to be able to see that the 2025 budget is also taking adequate care of.
“We have all agreed that we will want documented evidence of the performance of 2024, and our expectations for the 2025 budget, before we start talking about the MTEF for 2026.
“And the Honourable Minister of Finance has agreed to oblige us to give us that progress report. And we have agreed to reconvene, because this meeting is just adjourned. We are going to reconvene on the 23rd of October”.
Earlier, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said that high performance was recorded in the implementation of the capital component of the 2024 budget.
However, in his contribution, the DG, Budget Office said otherwise in his rating of the 2024 and 2025 budget performance, saying that, during the two fiscal years ( 2024 &2025), budgetary implementations were somewhat turbulent as some of the underlying assumptions were not met.
He said: “We have indeed had a turbulent year; one in which most of the assumptions underpinning the 2024 and 2025 budgets turned out differently from projections.
“Oil revenue, assumed at $75 per barrel, fell short by between $10 and $15 due to global price fluctuations. Inflation also rose beyond projections, affecting borrowing costs and debt service performance, which significantly exceeded targets.
“Furthermore, the unforeseen fiscal implications of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2022 have compounded our challenges.
“Under the Act, 30% of gross oil revenue and 30% of oil and gas profits are retained for upstream operations, while the Federal Government also bears the NNPC’s operating costs. This has reduced the Federation Account allocation by nearly 70% of what used to accrue.
“In addition, crude oil output has been lower than projected in the MTEF approved by the National Assembly”.
