3 months after, Senate sets to pass MTEF

After about three months delay, the Senate is set to pass the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) in preparatory to the consideration of the 2017 budget this week.

The letter of President Muhammadu Buhari on MTEF/FSP was read on October 4 last year but it was enmeshed in controversy when senators described it as ‘empty document’ and returned it back to the executive arm.

The lawmakers however resumed consideration of the fiscal document late last year. A notice paper released by the office of the chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Baba Kaka Garbai indicated that the document would be considered and passed on Wednesday.

The delay in the passage of the MTEF has held up commencement of work on the 2017 budget proposals which had earlier been slated for this week.

The notice paper also showed that the amendment of the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and the Universal Basic Education Act as well as the continuation of the Ministerial Briefing on the proposed closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, will dominate discussion at the three day plenary sittings of this week. The briefing on the proposed closure of Abuja Airport would resume tomorrow with presentations by the Minister of Power Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), representatives of the contractors of the airport runway, Julius Berger, Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika as well as heads of security agencies.

Also on the same day, Senate will discuss a motion on the state of affairs in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in the North-East zone, following the recent successes recorded by the military in opening up the areas previously locked up by insurents.