The Nigerian Senate has adopted the exchange rate of N305 for a US dollar, as proposed by the executive arm of government, for the 2017 fiscal year.
Senate was worried about the gap between the parallel market and the official exchange rate, encouraging the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to initiate measures to close the gap.
The Lawmakers also adopted the oil benchmark production of 2.2m barrel per day and $44.5 per barrel as benchmark price for 2017 budget, as recommended by the executive.
In November2016, senate considered the request of President Muhammadu Buhari on the 2017-2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) and referred same to the committees on Finance; Appropriation; and National Planning, for further legislative action.
The Joint Committees observed that the core parameters of the 2016 budget were based on a benchmark oil price of $38 per barrel, oil production of 2.2m barrel per day and exchange rate of N197 per Dollar.
But available records show that between January to October 2016, the country produced an average of 1.7m barrels per day. Frequent destruction of oil installations by the Niger Delta Militants have been blamed for the decline.
He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to curtail the activities of Niger Delta Militants, in order to halt the drop in crude oil production, and in order to achieve the 2.2m barrels benchmark for the year 2017.
On non – oil revenue projection, the Senate approved the projected N5.122 trillion in 2017, with the task on revenue generating agencies to intensify revenue collections drive.
The Senate also adopted the sum of N807.57bn for the Federal Government Independent Revenue for the 2017 fiscal year.
It however, recommended the review of the legal framework of relevant agencies and government owned enterprises.
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