TheCable

The senate on Wednesday considered the medium-term expenditure framework and fiscal strategy paper despite calls for its rejection.

Contributing to a debate on the proposal on Wednesday, Adeola Olamilekan, a senator from Lagos state, described it as unrealistic, and he urged the senate to reject it.‎

“The economic team of the president is in disarray. Yes, they are in disarray. I say it without fear or favour,” he said.

‎”I want to say this document is no document. I want to say we return to the executive so they can work on it.”‎

‎Also speaking on the document, Dino Melaye, a senator from Kogi west, wondered what happened to the previous proposal which the senate passed last year.

He asked the senate to reject the proposal, and return it to the executive.

“This document is a lie. It is not truthful, and it is not transparent,” he said.

“We need to know the level of compliance of the MTEF we passed last year. Is this MTEF predicated on the loan the executive want to take? Governance is about truth, it is about opening yourself to the people. The exchange rate of 290 per dollar is a lie. This is a fraud.

“This house is the house of the people. We should not out of fear or intimidation refuse to speak the truth. This document should go back to where it came from.‎”

But the upper legislative chamber considered the proposal, and Senate President Bukola Saraki referred it to the committees on appropriation and finance for more work.

It would be passed based on the recommendation of the committees.

The proposal, which was first read on October 4, articulates the government’s revenue and expenditure projections for three years, and provides‎ the basis for planning the budget.

It projects a $42.5 oil benchmark for the 2017 budget, and an exchange rate 290 per dollar‎.