The approval has been made by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on the 75 dollars per barrel oil benchmark for 2013 budget.
The CBN Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, made this known while briefing newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday. The briefing came shortly after its Monetary Policy Committee meeting.
Sanusi said that the meeting called on the government to significantly increase capital spending and increase its focus on improving governance and transparency in the public service.
“In this regard, the committee called on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to borrow from the Chilean experience with regard to the setting of the parameters for the preparation of the National Budget.’’
This, he said would eliminate the perennial rancour between the executive and the legislature on the benchmark for oil price.
Specifically, the committee called for the setting up of an independent legal structure to set benchmark output and price.
He stated further that the committee should be made up of independent experts who were shielded from political interference and interests.
Sanusi said that the committee voted to maintain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) or lending rate at 12 per cent.
He said that the country’s external reserves had increased by 13.04 billion dollars or 39.95 per cent over the December 2011 level of 32.64 billion dollars.
The increase, he said, was driven mainly by proceeds from crude oil and gas sales and crude oil-related taxes.