The Federal Government has ruled out an immediate review of the benchmark for the 2015 Federal Budget despite the crash in oil price in the international market.

Oil price of $65 per barrel was used for the budget but the price has since crashed below $50 a barrel, leading to demands in some quarters for the downward review of the budget benchmark.

Responding this afternoon, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said in a short statement issued in Abuja by her Special Adviser Paul C Nwabuikwu: “We are not reviewing the Budget Benchmark price at the moment. The price of oil is still quite volatile and we do not know how it will bottom out.

“We are taking a scenario-based approach in handling the 2015 Budget. That means that for various levels of oil price, we have additional measures both on the revenue and expenditure side, which will kick in when it bottoms out.

“The Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) is currently at the National Assembly. We have been working together with our lawmakers to ensure that we steer the country in the right direction during this period.”

•Photo shows Okonjo-Iweala.