National Assembly Increases 2025 Budget To N54.99Trn
The National Assembly has jacked up the size of the proposed 2025 budget from N54.2 trillion presented by President Bola Tinubu to N54.990 trillion , representing an increase of N700 billion for the fiscal years.
Presenting the budget , Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriations, Solomon Olamilekan explains that the increase is as a result of additional N4.530 trillion from various government revenue generating agencies.
The sum of N1.49 trillion is from the Federal Inland Revenue Service , FIRS , while N1.209 trillion came from the Nigerian Customs Service , NCS and another N1.823 trillion from other Government Owed Enterprises, GOEs.
He said government hopes to apply the total sum of N4.530 trillion from the various agencies on critical challenges in the solid minerals sector, the recapitalization of the Bank of Agriculture ( BoA] N1.5 trillion) , the Bank of Industry ( BoI) with N500billion as well as critical infrastructure projects such as irrigation development ( N380blion, transportation infrastructure ( road & rail).
The increase is also as a result of a new provision of $200 million, equivalent to N300bn in the Service Wide Votes by President Bola Tinubu.
The money is to close the gap created by the United States decision to suspend further intervention in the Nigerian Health Sector through its agency USAID to provide vaccines and drugs for malaria , polio , HIV and Tuberculosis.
The jack up is also as a result of genuine requests for more funding by agencies like the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC , EFCC, NFIU , ICPC, NDLEA , DSS , NJC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After a clause by clause consideration of the budget , both chambers of the National Assembly subsequently passed, pegging the total expenditure
at N54.990 trillion out of which a total sum of N3.6 trillion is for Statutory Transfers, N13,0 trillion as recurrent expenditure while capital expenditure stands at N23.9 trillion.
The budget is still however high on fiscal deficit of N13.08 trillion even as the Deficit to GDP ration is put at 1.52%
