Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Saabi Abdullahi, in an interview with newsmen at the National Assembly, explained, “We are going to be as realistic as possible. So, what I want to assure you is that when we resume from recess, the budget will be top priority and we are going to give it expeditious attention.”

In a related development, Senate President Bukola Saraki, in a statement released from his Media Office Thursday, urged the Central Bank of Nigeria to relax its strict foreign exchange policy, declaring that the policy was doing more harm to the economy than good.

Saraki maintained that small businesses were being made to suffer unnecessarily and therefore called on the apex to introduce a more flexible foreign exchange regime and reduce the present restrictions on the autonomous market, which Saraki observed does not allow businessmen to bring in foreign exchange or utilise what they have in their accounts.

However, in contradiction of Senate President’s view, Abdullahi commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for what he described as effective management of foreign exchange, stating, “If you look at the Forex market, today it will gain, tomorrow it will drop, so these are dynamics that we are not sure how it will play out. With the management of the Forex, I want to believe that the CBN is doing a very great job we should encourage them and give them the necessary support so that at the end of day we will continue to do those things that are in the interest of Nigerians.”

He explained that in preparing the budget, the National Assembly would also pay attention to the critical issue of revenue diversification.

“What I want you to do is if you look at the budget, you see that we are giving more emphasis on non-oil revenue and by the time we block the leakages and ensure value for money, we should be able to do those things that will add value to the economy.