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By Nasir Kura
President Muhammadu Buhari would preside over a special session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Friday to deliberate on the draft 2019 budget estimates.
This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the weekly FEC meeting in Abuja.
He said the meeting would put finishing touches to the draft document before it would be forwarded as Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly.
for vetting.
Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr. Udoma Udo Udoma, had last month announced that the federal government was considering a leaner 2019 budget of N8.6 trillion.
Addressing a consultative forum on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) 2019-2021, the minister said the decision was due to reduced government revenue projection for the year.
He said government plans to cut down the level of borrowing from N1.6 trillion in 2018 to N1.5 trillion in 2019, while the deficit component would be reduced from N1.9 trillion in 2018 to N1.6 trillion.