President Bola Tinubu made his first budget presentation since assuming office on May 29, 2023. The N27.5 trillion budget was unveiled to lawmakers at the National Assembly earlier today. Tinubu arrived at the complex accompanied by Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Abdullahi Ganjude, and other dignitaries.
The Senate granted the President’s request to present the budget to a joint session with the House of Representatives. The proposed budget for 2024 is 26% higher than the previous year, totaling 20.51 trillion naira presented by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022.
Prior to the budget presentation, President Tinubu had submitted the 2024-2026 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper to the National Assembly. The initial proposal of N26.1 trillion for total expenditure was adjusted upwards by N1.5 trillion following an increase in oil prices and a reduction in the naira exchange rate.
President Tinubu addressed the joint session, highlighting the overhaul of the nation’s internal security architecture to enhance law enforcement capabilities and ensure the safety of life, property, and investments across the country. The proposed budget places a strong emphasis on human capital development.
President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio,urged the president to bar ministers and heads of federal government MDAs from embarking on foreign trips.He assured the president that the 2024 Appropriation Bill would be accorded accelerated consideration and passage which would be done before the end of the year.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, said Nigerians expect quick, sustainable solutions to economic hardship assured Nigerians of their participation in the budgeting process and eventual approval of the 2024 budget for transparency and accountability. He said in order to establish public support, the House of Representatives will convene the first national citizens’ budget town hall meetings to harness public input and opinions on this budget.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, confirmed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the 2024 Appropriation Bill with an aggregate expenditure of N27.5 trillion, reflecting an increase of over N1.5 trillion from the previous estimate.
After the presentation, several members of the National Assembly spoke with correspondents, assuring Nigerians that they would diligently scrutinize the budget to ensure it addresses the needs of all.
Here are the Key Highlights of Renewed Hope Budget:
- Better investment environment, increase human capital development, and reduce poverty and greater access to social security.
- Defense and internal security are top priority
- More sustainable model to fund tertiary education to be implemented, the Student Loan Scheme will become operational by January 2024.
- Expectations of the economy to grow by a minimum of 76%, above di world average forecast.
- Inflation is expected to moderate to 21.4% for 2024
- Government will adopt an oil price benchmark of 96 US Dollars per barrel and daily oil production estimate of 1.78 million barrels per day to match with the world oil market.
- Government will adopt one Naira to US Dollar exchange rate of 750 naira per US Dollar for 2024
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s 2024 budget, describing it as a disservice that would further burden Nigerians and lead the country into economic hardship. The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Hon.
Debo Ologunagba, accused the budget of containing heavily padded figures, duplicated items, and false statistics. The opposition party called on the National Assembly to reject the budget, citing concerns about an impending increase in taxes and interest rates that would adversely affect the productive sector.
PDP urged the legislature to use its constitutional duty to disassemble the budget and prioritize provisions crucial to economic growth and the welfare of Nigerians.
