Executive, Legislature Collaboration Essential For Robust Fiscal Policy- Senate.

The Nigerian Senate says genuine and deliberate collaboration between the Legislature and the Executive arms of government could produce a robust fiscal policy that would effectively address the economic challenges currently confronting Nigeria.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Mohammed Sani Musa, said such collaboration would not only guarantee economic growth but also massive revenue generation.

Senator Musa explained this in a statement amidst preparations by a joint committee of the Senate chaired by him to engage heads of federal ministries, departments and agencies in rigorous interactive public hearings on the  2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF-FSP).

The interactive sessions, being coordinated by the Senate Committees on Finance, also included Committee on Appropriations; National Planning and Economic Affairs; and Local and Foreign Debts.

The joint panel would scrutinise the fiscal document with the heads of MDAs and chief executives of government-owned organisations with a view to increasing the national revenue base and block leakages.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently transmitted the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) to the Senate for approval.

The Federal Government in the 2024-2026 MTEF/FSP, pegged the price of crude oil at $73.96; exchange rate at N700/$; oil production at 1.78 million barrels per day; debt service of N8. 25 trillion; inflation at 21 per cent and GDP growth at 3.76 per cent.

The aggregate expenditure was estimated at N26.01 trillion for the 2024 budget, which includes statutory transfers of N1.3trn, non-debt recurrent expenditure of N10.26 trillion, debt service estimated at N8.25 trillion, as well as N7.78 trillion for personnel and pension cost.

The approved MTEF/FSP would set out the parameters upon which the next year’s budget would be predicated.

Lateefah Ibrahim