President Mohammadu Buhari has sent a request to the Senate to approve adjustments to the 2022 fiscal framework.

The request was contained in a letter dated 5th April 2022. The letter was read during plenary by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, Punch reports.

The president noted that an adjustment to the 2022 fiscal framework became imperative in view of new developments in both the global and domestic economies.

According to him, the developments were occasioned by spikes in the market price of crude oil, which were a fallout of the Russian-Ukraine war.

“As you are aware, there have been new developments both in the global economy as well as in the domestic economy which have necessitated the revision of the 2022 Fiscal Framework on which the 2022 Budget was based.

“These developments include spikes in the market price of crude oil, aggravated by the Russian-Ukraine war, significantly lower oil production volume due principally to production shut-ins as a result of massive theft of crude oil between the production platforms and the terminals.

“The decision to suspend the removal of Petroleum Motor Spirit subsidy at a time when high crude oil prices have elevated the subsidy cost has significantly eroded government revenues”, he said.

He, therefore, requested the upper chamber to approve an increase in the oil benchmark by US$11 per barrel, from US$62 per barrel to US$73 per barrel.

The President also sought a reduction in the projected oil production volume by 283,000 barrels per day, from 1.883 million barrels per day to 1.600 million barrels per day.

He also the chamber to approve an increase in the estimated provision for PMS subsidy for 2022 by N3.557 trillion, from N442.72 billion to N4.00 trillion.