Senate awaits MTEF, budget-Lawan

Senate president Ahmad Lawan has said the senate has resolved to await the presentation of the medium term expenditure framework and fiscal strategy paper (MTEF/FSP) as well as the 2020 budget proposals to it by president Muhammadu Buhari.

Lawan, who spoke after an executive session of the Senate, also disclosed that all the 69 Standing Committees of the Senate would be inaugurated on Wednesday at plenary.

The Senate had on resumption from its annual recess immediately went into an executive session.

Lawan said that the Senate resolved during the executive session to inaugurate all its Standing Committees on Wednesday.

He said that the Senate also resolved to await the presentation of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper as well as the 2020 budget proposals by the executive.

He however did not give a definite date when the two important communications from the executive would get to the National Assembly.

Meanwhile Section 11 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act clearly stipulates that the MTEF/FSP “must not be submitted later than four months before the commencement of the next financial year.”

Section 18 of the Act also provides that “the MTEF shall be the basis for the preparation of the estimates of revenue and expenditure required to be prepared and laid before the National Assembly under section 81 (1) of the Constitution.”