President presents 2018-2020 expenditure framework to Reps

• Seeks quick reform of budgeting process for transparency • President leaves for D-8 summit in Istanbul, to visit Ankara

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has submitted the 2018-2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEFFSP) to the House of Representatives in a bid to ensure the timely passage of the 2018 budget.

Speaker Yakubu Dogara read the correspondence from the President dated October 9, 2017 during the plenary session of the House yesterday.

The President, in the correspondence, said that the decision to submit the MTEF-FSP was in line with the provision of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007. In another vein, Buhari has expressed his desire to have the national budgeting process thoroughly reformed in a manner that will promote accountability, transparency and professionalism. The President, who spoke in Abuja at the summit on intergovernmental/inter-party relations and the budget reform process for sustainable development in Nigeria, organised by the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS), represented by the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, said that meaningful development could only be guaranteed in Nigeria when credibility is introduced to the budgeting process. He acknowledged that conflicts between the legislative and executive arms of government were normal in a democracy setting.

Meanwhile, Buhari will today depart for Istanbul, Turkey, to participate in the ninth summit of the Developing 8 (D-8) on Friday, October 20, 2017.

Besides, prior to the summit, Buhari, at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, will pay an official working visit to Ankara, the capital city.

A statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, yesterday stated that while in Ankara, the President will have a tete-atete with his Turkish counterpart and delegations from both countries will hold discussions in various fields, including defence, co-operation, security, educational and migration issues.