The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a three-year Fiscal Strategy Framework from 2017 to 2019.
The document, known as the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), kick-starts the process for the preparation of the 2017 budget.
This is the outcome of the Council Meeting, which held in the Presidential Villa and presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udo Udoma, told State House correspondents that the Federal Government intends to intensify efforts in pursuing a non-oil driven economy.
According to Udoma, the government will devote more resources to critical infrastructure projects like roads, rail and ports.
He put the oil benchmark projections as follows: 2017, $42.5 per barrel; 2018, $45; and 2019, $50 and a production target of 2.2 million barrels per day.
Udoma added that the government also projected a “conservative” exchange rate N290 to a dollar, with the expectation that the Naira would stabilize.
He said that the government consulted widely with the private sector, governors and experts before arriving at the framework.
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