The recommendations of designated standing committees will determine how the Senate will consider MTEF as the pre-budget document is expected to arrive at the National Assembly this week.
The Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) is a multi-year public expenditure plan upon which the budget for a three-year period is set. It is the duty of the national assembly to approve the budget but it must first consider and approve the MTEF presented by the executive. The document lays out the future budget requirements for delivery of services alongside the resource requirements and implications.
Legally, the presentation of the MTEF is what prepares the ground for preparation of the budget as stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), 2007, which states that “government corporations shall submit their budget estimates and proposed operating surplus to the minister of finance not later than August and shall form part of the draft budget submitted to the parliament.”
The Senate has however declared its preparedness to receive the MTEF for the fiscal year (2024 – 2027) from the Federal Government this week.
Subsequently, when the MTEF is sent to the Senate for consideration, it is thereafter referred to a joint committee on Finance, Appropriations and National Planning and Economic Affairs whose principal role is to review and approve the proposed MTEF ahead of the commencement of the budget preparation.
The committees charged with the MTEF review are expected to interface with relevant agencies of the federal governemnt to enable them make practicable recommendations to the entire senate for approval
Senate Committee on Finance
Sen. Sani Musa is the Chairman, Committee on Finance. He represents Niger East Senatorial District, serving his 2nd term in the Senate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Senator Musa was Chairman, Committee on Senate Services in the 9th Senate, and was a member of the following committees: Petroleum Resources Upstream; Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions: Appropriation; Foreign and Local Debt, and Constitution Review Committee
He was the Special Adviser to the Niger State Government on Investment and Infrastructure, and the former Chairman of the Task Force on Environmental Management, Niger State.
The lawmaker has sponsored over 20 bills and several motions on the floor of the Red Chamber. He was among the senators awarded Certificates of Recognition as Top Senate Newbies by OrderPaper at its first-ever Most Valuable Parliamentarian (MVP) Hall of Fame in May 2023 for his valuable contributions in the core legislative function of lawmaking over the last four years.
The Vice Chairman of the Finance Committee is Sen. Kamorudeen Olalere Oyewumi (PDP, Osun West), who is Deputy Minority Leader in the 10th Senate.
Senate Committee on Appropriations
Sen. Solomon Olamilekan, popularly known as Yayi, had previously served as the Senator representing Lagos West from 2015 to 2023. He now represents Ogun west in the 10th Senate.
Olamilekan was a member representing Alimosho Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives from 2011 – 2015. While in the House, he was the Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts. After serving for a term in the House, in 2015 he moved to the Senate and won to represent the people of the Lagos West Senatorial District up until 2023. He sponsored and co-sponsored many bills including the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2019 amongst others.
Olamilekan had previously served as a Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor in 2002 and later as a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly from 2003 – 2011 before joining the National Assembly.
The Vice Chairman of the Committee is Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South), who is the current Chief Whip of the 10th Senate.
Senate Committee on National Planning and Economic Affairs
Sen. Yahaya Abubakar Abdullahi (PDP, Kebbi North) is the chairman of the committee. The third term lawmaker has been in the Senate since 2015, when he was elected into the 8th Senate under the All Progressives Congress (APC) and later re-elected in 2019 into the 9th Assembly where he served as the Senate’s Majority Leader until he defected to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Under the PDP, he was re-elected into the 10th Assembly which was inaugurated on June 13, 2023.
He graduated from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State, with a Bachelor of Science. In 1983, he bagged a PhD in Rural Sociology from the same university after holding several teaching and research positions. He has also headed the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology in ABU, Zaria.
Senator Yahaya was inducted into the first-ever Most Valuable Parliamentarian (MVP) Hall of Fame in May 2023. Out of the 469 Lawmakers in the 9th Assembly, he was one of the only five inducted into the Hall of Fame as a distinct class of legislators who had proven to be performance-driven, excellence-inspired, public-spirited and exhibited exemplary leadership.
The Vice Chairman of the Committee is Sen. Kenneth Emeka Eze (APC, Ebonyi Central)
What to expect from the joint committee
The MTEF, when referred to the joint committee, is expected to be reviewed and discussed in an interactive session.
The Joint Committees will work in collaboration with the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) which include; the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the Nigerian Customs Service, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Debt Management Office (DMO), and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, in deciding the programmes and projects that will drive economic development and meet the expectations of the people.
It will also address and interrogate issues such as unemployment, huge debt crises of the country, price inflation, naira devaluation, poverty, oil production and prices and revenue generation.
The Senate Joint Committee will then make recommendations on the floor of the red chamber for adoption by all senators in plenary.
