The House of Representatives has approved the 2025-2027 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) submitted to it by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the presentation of the 2025 budget.
The House however recommended an investigation into the report by the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission and Fiscal Responsibility Commission alleging that the NNPC Limited withheld about ₦8.48 trillion from the Federations Account as a claim for subsidies on petrol.
They also want an in-depth investigation conducted on the report by NEITI alleging that NNPC failed to remit $2 billion (₦3.6 trillion) in taxes to the Federal Government and also verify the total cumulative amount of unremitted revenue (under-recovery) from the sale of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by the NNPC between 2020 and 2023.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu submitted the MTEF/FSP which provides parameters for the preparation of the annual budget to the parliament on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, for consideration.
The Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committees on Finance and National Planning held a consultative meeting with all relevant agencies of government on Tuesday on the presentation by the President.
The report on the MTEF presented to the House for consideration by the Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, James Abiodun Faleke (APC, Lagos retained the government recommendation of the N1400 exchange rate to the dollars, subject to review in the new year and oil production of 2.06 million barrel of crude per day, with 75 dollar per barrel of crude price.
The House approved a projection of 15.75 percent Inflation rates and a GDP growth rate of 4.6 percent for 2025.
Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda and some other members argued that the projected inflation rate was not realistic, while also asking the House to increase the projected price for crude from 75 to 77 dollars, while reducing the production of crude from 2.06 mbpd to 2mbpd.
It also approved the Promissory Note Programme and Bond Issuance to settle outstanding claims and liabilities of the Federal Government owed to States, high-priority judgments as well as liabilities incurred by Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies on behalf of the government.
In addition, the House approved the recommendation that a quarterly investigative hearing with revenue-generating agencies track their compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act and punish those in clear contravention of the Act.
It also asked the Committee on Finance to conduct a review and initiate inquiry into the implementation of the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme (NESS) Act, specifically focusing on the inspection and monitoring of oil and gas exports by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure effectiveness, compliance, and oversight mechanisms under the Act, identify gaps or challenges, and enhance revenue for the Government, through transparency, accountability and efficiency of export supervision in line with national economic objectives.
The House said the National Assembly, through its Committees on Finance, National Planning and other relevant Committees should carry out an in-depth investigation of all agreements by the NNPC, NLNG and Immigration Services to reconcile remittances to the Federation Account;
The House also approved the 2025 Federal Government of Nigeria Budget proposed spending stands at NGN47.9 trillion, of which NGN34.82 trillion was retained; new borrowings stood at NGN9.22 trillion which constitutes both domestic and foreign borrowings; debt service was valued at NGN15.38 trillion; pensions, gratuities and retirees’ benefits stood at NGN1.443 trillion and fiscal deficit at NGN13.08 trillion.
It said that the Capital expenditure is projected at NGN16.48 trillion which is exclusive of transfers statutory transfers stand at NGN4.26 trillion; Sinking Fund is projected at NGN430.27 billion, while total recurrent (non-debt) was pegged at NGN14.21 trillion; special intervention for recurrent and capital is at NGN200 billion and NGN7 billion respectively.
The House directs its Committee on Finance to review and initiate an inquiry into the implementation of the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme (NESS) Act, specifically focusing on the inspection and monitoring of oil and gas exports by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure effectiveness, compliance, and oversight mechanisms under the Act, identify gaps or challenges, and enhance revenue for the Government, through transparency, accountability, and efficiency of export supervision in line with national economic objectives.
The Committee on Finance is also to liaise with the Committee on Customs to initiate an investigative inquiry into the operations of the Import Duty Exemption Certificate (IDEC) program, with a focus on the administration of import waivers and their impact on revenue losses by the Ministry of Finance and the Nigeria Customs Service, as a way of evaluating compliance, identify systemic gaps or irregularities, and recommend measures to enhance transparency, accountability and optimize revenue generation for the nation.
It also approved the recommendation that performance metrics be established for MDAs with poor financial reporting standards and mandate regular independent audits of their accounts to ensure compliance.
The House Committee on Finance in its report had said that the existing liabilities and debt obligations in the country are largely responsible for increasing the debt profile of the Country, while most revenue-generating agencies violate the Fiscal Responsibility Act due to the lack of punitive provisions in the Act.
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