By Henry Umoru & Inalegwu Shaibu

ABUJA – AHEAD of the presentation of 2012 budget by President Goodluck Jonathan, the Senate said, Wednesday, that there might be no way forward unless the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, was put in place.

Speaking with journalists yesterday, Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Publicity Affairs, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Abia Central, disclosed that the Senate will today deliberate on the report and recommendations submitted by the Senator Ahmed Lawan-led ad hoc committee that probed the privatisation of several Nigerian firms, to find a way forward for the Bureau of Public Enterprise, BPE.

He said the Senate had just concluded work on the consideration of MTEF, adding that the upper legislative chamber will be handicapped in doing anything about the 2012 budget even if the President submits it to the committee saddled with the responsibility of working on the document.

He said: “We have just considered the Medium Term Expenditure Frame-work, MTEF, and once we pass it, after the committee that was referred to work on it brings the report back, that would give the basis for discussing the budget.”

He explained that the National Assembly had reached an agreement with the President not to work on one year, but over a period of time which, according to him, explains why the issue of the MTEF has become very important to the budget.

Abaribe said: “You will recall that we are in agreement with the President to do things, not just for one year, but over a period of time and MTEF is up to 2015.

“The budget will be a part of the framework. I believe that once the physical framework that will span for four years is put in place, we will then begin to talk about the budget.

“We don’t have too much of a problem regarding it now because the underlying assumption for the budget is also the underlying assumption for the medium term expenditure framework.”