BY Henry Umoru & Inalegwu Shaibu
ABUJA — The Senate, yesterday, warned that it would not accept any extra budgetary spending on fuel subsidy from the Federal Government in 2012 fiscal year even as it approved President Goodluck Jonathan’s 2012-2015 Medium Term Fiscal Frameworks, MTFF and 2012 Fiscal Strategy Paper, FSP, setting a benchmark price of crude oil for the 2012 Appropriation Bill at $75 per barrel.

Senate has also directed all government ministries, departments and agencies to submit their 2012 budget estimates to it with clear details on how the funds would be expended.

The upper chamber gave the directives upon the approval of the Medium Term Fiscal Framework, MTFF, submitted by Finance, Appropriation and National Planning.

The Senate recommended among others that: “With the partial deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, all savings accruals must be captured in safety net for targeted expenditures and appropriated by the National Assembly.

“The MDAs should submit their expenditure pattern with clearly defined performance action plan, concrete milestone and measurable performance indicators to the National Assembly.

“The Federal Ministry of Finance provides comprehensive information to the National Assembly on the 2012 Appropriations proposal with regards to the volume of capital projects to be funded through Public Private Participation (PPP).”

Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Bassey Otu, who presented the report at plenary pointed out that the MTFF and FSP enumerated the principal components of proposed government revenue and expenditure plan for 2012-2015.

The committee, however, retained the benchmark price of crude oil at $75, while recommending that the daily crude oil production figures of 2.48mbpd, 2.55mbpd to 2.58mbpd and 2.60mbpd for 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively be retained in the MTFF.

The report also called for a freeze on increase in allocation to government overhead expenditure throughout the aforementioned period, besides recommending that Federal Government should as from 2012 begin the process of reducing its workforce.

The report which recommended an exchange rate of N155 to a US Dollar also stated that the Federal Ministry of Finance must provide comprehensive information to the National Assembly on the 2012 Appropriation’s proposal with regards to the volume of capital projects to be funded through the Public Private Partnerships, PPP.