The Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its extra-ordinary meeting last Friday approved the framework for the 2012 budget to be submitted to the National Assembly in November.

The council also directed the Board of Internal Revenue to begin immediate enforcement of tax laws to recover more than N170 billion outstanding in taxes owed the Federal Government by individuals and corporate organisations.

Mr Labaran Maku and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Ministers of Information and Finance respectively, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after the meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja.

Maku said the meeting summoned by the president deliberated on the 2012 budget and on Medium Term Framework which would guide Nigeria’s fiscal expenditure from 2012 to 2015.

He said the meeting also discussed ways to align the budget to anticipated resources, ensure fiscal and budgetary discipline and correct some fiscal lapses that had developed in recent years.

The minister said the council raised concern over the problem of tax evasion by individuals and corporate organisations and was alarmed to hear the report that more than N170 billion was owed government in taxes.

To this effect, Maku said the extra-ordinary session endorsed the enforcement of existing laws to collect the outstanding taxes.

Speaking in the same vein, Okonjo-Iweala said the council while preparing the 2012 budget put into consideration the global trends as it affected oil; the key export and revenue earner of the country.

She said the council agreed on bench mark of oil of 75 dollars per barrel with a constant review because of the volatility in the external market.

“We are working with NNPC for the year 2012 at 2.48 million barrels per day production and going up gradually to 2.6 million barrels per day production in 2015 as assumption underlying the budget,’’ she said.

She said government was looking at a “realistic’ GDP growth of between seven and eight per cent over the next three years and aiming at a single digit inflation.

On economic growth, the minister said government would focus on expansion of non-oil sectors like agriculture, power, entertainment as well as mine and steel to diversify the economy and ensure fiscal prudence.

She said the 2012 budget would focus on completion of ongoing projects while priority attention would be given to special projects in sectors like works, manufacturing agriculture and ICT.

Okonjo-Iweala said government would change the spending structure by reducing recurrent expenditure and increasing capital expenditure.

“Recurrent expenditure is about 74 per cent of the total expenditure now and we want to drag this down over the next four years.

“By 2012, we hope to drag it down to about 72 per cent. And as you know the recurrent expenditure is largely made up of personnel.

“This is not about laying people off, we are just going to work with attrition of staff; those who will leave normally and the weeding out of ghost workers,’’ she said.