- But in separate letters to the Senate and the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Tinubu announced an increase in the proposed budget size
The Nigerian government has shed more light on why the proposed 2025 budget was raised to N54.2 trillion
The proposed 2025 budget initially presented to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu was N49.7 trillion.
But in separate letters to the Senate and the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Tinubu announced an increase in the proposed budget size.
In the letter, the budget increase is attributed to N1.4 trilliion additional revenues made by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, N1.2 trillion made by the Nigeria Customs Service, and N1.8 trilliion generated by some other Government Owned Agencies.
Consequently, the Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who read the letter during plenary, urged the Senate Committee on Appropriation to expeditiously considered the increment.
He also declared that the 2025 budget would be passed before the end of February.
Speaking on the development, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, said the increase in the budget was necessitated by Tinubu’s demand to inject additional revenue of over N4.5 trillion naira to critical area of the economy.
He stated that the legislative work that commenced after the the president submitted the N49 trillion budget has continued with interactions between the executive and the National Assembly, as well as the economic management team, which continued to interrogate all the figures.
According to Bagudu, “While the process was still going on, the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senate Committee on National Planning and Senate Committee on Finance established that we can generate more revenue by tasking all the institutions to do more and the Federal Inland Revenue Service confirmed the ability to do more than was submitted.
“It was established that the government-owned enterprises can contribute more revenue, as well as the Customs Service.
“So additional revenue amounting to over N4.5 trillion naira was established and this was taken to the President and he guided that this additional revenue should be used to further strengthen the Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry, support the diversification program by putting more money in the solid minerals sector, as well as infrastructure projects.”
Commenting on the adjustment of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, Bagudu stated that even when the budget was submitted, the MTEF was amended.
“The MTEF that was initially approved was for a budget of less than N49 trillion, so it goes together and so the consequential amendment to the MTEF will certainly follow.”
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