The National Assembly is considering jerking up the oil bench mark price from $70 per barrel to $75, a member of the House of Representative, Abdurahman Terab has said.
Terab told newsmen last week in Abuja that the House Committee on Appropriations is currently scrutinizing the budget estimates.
He said there was a general consensus in both the Finance and Appropriations committees that $70 per barrel was rather too low considering the current oil price in the international market which is well over $100.
The National Assembly is considering jerking up the oil bench mark price from $70 per barrel to $75, a member of the House of Representative, Abdurahman Terab has said.
Terab told newsmen last week in Abuja that the House Committee on Appropriations is currently scrutinizing the budget estimates.
He said there was a general consensus in both the Finance and Appropriations committees that $70 per barrel was rather too low considering the current oil price in the international market which is well over $100.
He said: “If we don't increase the bench mark, the money will go to the Sovereign Wealth Fund at a time there is extreme poverty in the country and a huge budget deficit. But to me leaving too much in the savings is invitation to corruption.”
"All indices have shown that oil price will not go down because of the Arab turmoil and the Iranian nuclear crisis."
He said to achieve the Medium Term Fiscal Frame work of road infrastructural development; there must be an annual budget allocation of N400 billion for the next three years amounting to N1.2 trillion.
"But ministry of works was only allocated a meager sum of N134 billion for capital project," he said.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has argued that if oil benchmark is increased, it could lead to increase in inflation which is currently 10.3 percent.
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