Jonathan postpones budget presentation indefinitely

Intrigues and differences over the 2014 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) on Tuesday forced President Goodluck Jonathan to postpone the presentation of the 2014 budget indefinitely.

Apart from disagreement over the MTEF, sources also said that alleged plan by some Senators and House of Representatives members under the platform of the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) to embarrass President Jonathan during the budget presentation may have contributed to the decision to shelve the budget presentation.

Informed sources said that “undercover security agents discovered that some members of the nPDP in the National Assembly and some outsiders met late Monday night and resolved to “boo and jeer Mr. President during the budget presentation.”

But President Jonathan said that 2014 budget presentation was aborted due to differences between the Senate and the House of Representatives on the appropriate oil benchmark.

Jonathan in a letter dated November 18th, 2013 entitled “Re: 2014 budget” informed the lawmakers that it would be infeasible for him to present the budget in absence of a harmonized position on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework.

Tuesday’s sudden postponement of the budget presentation was the second time the 2014 budget presentation was put on hold.

The budget was to have been presented to the joint session of the National Assembly on November 12.

The annual fiscal exercise was rescheduled for Tuesday.

The Presidential letter read by the Senate President, David Mark said, “Please recall that I had written requesting the Distinguished Senate to grant me the slot of 12 noon on Tuesday, 19th November 2013 to enable me address a joint session of the National Assembly on the 2014 budget.

“However, considering the fact that, ‘whereas the Distinguished Senate has approved the MTEF based on a benchmark of $76.5 per barrel, the Honourable House of Representatives has used a benchmark of $79 per barrel, it is infeasible for me to present the budget in absence of a harmonized position on the MTEF.

“In the circumstance, it has become necessary to defer the presentation of the 2014 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly until such a time when both respected chambers would have harmonized their positions on the MTEF.

“It is my hope that this will be in the shortest possible time.”