BY OKEY NDIRIBE & EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

ABUJA—House of Representatives, Tuesday, shifted ground and adopted $79 per barrel of crude oil as the benchmark for the 2013 budget.

The House also adopted the Medium Term Economic Framework (MTEF 2013-2015) and Fiscal Strategy Paper presented it last October by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The House took the decision at plenary after members were informed by John Enoh (PDP, Cross River), Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, that a joint conference of both houses of the National Assembly had agreed on the $79 benchmark against the $80 earlier adopted by the lower House.

Senate had adopted $78, while the Federal Government requested for the endorsement of $75 per barrel benchmark.

According to Enoh, the Joint National Assembly conference decided that the Federal Government should exercise extreme caution on foreign borrowing; adopt Corporate Tax and VAT rates of 30 percent and five percent, respectively, for 2013-2015 and transfer to Nigerian Customs Service the Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme, CISS, Account.

Enoh further stated that the joint conference rejected the structures being set up in states, senatorial zones and local governments in respect of Federal Government SURE-P intervention programmes.

He added that the details of SURE-P to be executed under the programme be attached as addendum to the annual appropriation for scrutiny and approval by the National Assembly, that crude oil production levels be retained at 2.526 million barrels per day for 2013; 2.61 for 2014 and 2.648 for 2015.

He said the conference also agreed that the revenue target of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, for 2013 be increased and that government must take urgent steps to review all laws that allowed its agencies to expand their revenue with little or no operating surpluses.