FEC keeps mum on 2017 budget (Photos)

Rising from its meeting on Wednesday, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) said it had approved the Appropriation Bill for 2017, but would not give any details.

After the meeting which lasted almost the whole day, Minister for Budget and Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma who addressed newsmen refused to give details of the 2017 budget, or when it will be presented to the National Assembly.

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“With regards to the date, the President will be communicating to the National Assembly and, of course, it will be at the National Assembly’s discretion ultimately. The President will write to them and after they confirm, then the President can come to address them.”

On the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) which the lawmakers had described as horrow, Udoma said “The MTEF was a very well prepared document after extensive consultations. We consulted the private sector, NGOs etc.”

“But the assumptions of that MTEF were assumptions which were true and correct as of the time it was prepared in August. Naturally, the estimates may vary; every time you improve on your estimate based on the latest estimates,” the minister said.

Also giving updates on the level of implementation of the 2016 budget, he said, “As you are well aware, we’ve had revenue constraints. Nevertheless, as we have been briefing you regularly every month and you are up to date, we have paid all personnel in full.

“We have met all our personnel emoluments in full. Overheads, we have met a good proportion of the overheads. And capital, we have released almost N800 billion in terms of capital to date.”

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