Update: Buhari Set To Preside Over Special FEC Meeting On Friday – Adesina

Jennifer Akamanu

President Muhammadu Buhari will on Friday, preside over a ‘special’ Federal Executive Council meeting to deliberate solely on the 2019 draft budget proposal.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, revealed this when he briefed State House correspondents at the end of the Council’s meeting on Wednesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the FEC meeting was presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.

Adesina stated that Friday’s Special FEC meeting would endorse and approve the 2019 draft budget for onward submission to the National Assembly for its approval.

October 18, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma, at the consultative forum on the medium term expenditure framework and fiscal strategy paper 2019 to 2021, said the Federal Government plans to submit a leaner 2019 budget to the National Assembly before the end of November.

In spite of the recent oil output drop to about 1.9 million barrels per day, Udoma said government was optimistic the 2.3 million barrels a day target was achievable, with production now rising to about 2.15 million barrels a day and new oil productions being put into play.

Although a $50 per barrel oil price benchmark was proposed in the ERGP, he said with a significant rise in the price above $80 per barrel currently, government has proposed a $60 a barrel oil price for the budget.

He said N305 was proposed as exchange rate to the dollar, with government working to keep inflation down after slight increases in the last two months on the heels of 18 months consecutive decline.

The projected target gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate for the budget was put at 3.01 per cent, reduced from 4.5 per cent in the ERGP; 3.6 per cent in 2020 and 3.9 per cent in 2021.

“Growth is expected to increase from 0.8 per cent in 2017 to 2.1 per cent this year and 3.01 per cent in 2019 with the continued implementation of the ERGP in 2019 and improved outlook for oil prices,” he said.

On revenue, Udoma said based on the oil price and oil production assumptions, government expects to generate about N3.6trn from oil, up by about N500bn from last year’s figure.

About N6.9trn revenue is projected to be available to the budget in 2019.

With other projections showing government expects to collect less revenue from some independent sources, he said only about N624bn is expected to be realised, against about N847bn in the 2018 budget, among others.