News Investigators/ President Bola Tinubu has presented the 2024 Appropriation Bill of N27.5 trillion to a joint session of the National Assembly, describing it as the “Budget of Renewed Hope.”
Mr. Tinubu arrived the Green Chambers of the House of Representatives where he addressed the senators and members at about 11.13 a.m. He was accompanied by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, ministers and the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje.
The President of the Senate and Chairman of the National Assembly, Godswill Akpabio, called the House to order at 11.15 a.m. Akpabio began the reading of the welcome address at 11.20 a.m.
The President who acknowledged the global economic crisis of recent years which averaged growth at 3.0 percent, hailed the resilience of the Nigerian economy.
According to him, “the 2024 Budget proposal meets our goal of completing critical infrastructure projects which will help address structural problems in the economy by lowering the costs of doing business for companies and the cost of living for the average person, The Honourable Minister of Budget and Economic Planning will provide full details of this proposal.
“Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members, an aggregate revenue of 11.045 trillion naira was projected to fund the 2023 Budget of 24.82 trillion naira with a deficit of about 6.1 percent of GDP.
“As of September 30, the Federal Government’s actual aggregate revenue inflow was 8.65 trillion naira, approximately 96 percent of the targeted 8.28 trillion naira. Despite the challenges, we continue to meet our obligations,” he said.
Highlighting the key issues relating to the budget proposals for the next fiscal year, Mr. Tinubu said the 2024 Appropriation has been themed the Budget of Renewed Hope. “The proposed Budget seeks to achieve job-rich economic growth, macro-economic stability, a better investment environment, enhanced human capital development, as well as poverty reduction and greater access to social security.
“Defence and internal security are accorded top priority. The internal security architecture will be overhauled to enhance law enforcement capabilities and safeguard lives, property and investments across the country.
“Human capital is the most critical resource for national development. Accordingly, the budget prioritizes human development with particular attention to children, the foundation of our nation.
“To improve the effectiveness of our budget performance, the government will focus on ensuring value for money, greater transparency and accountability. In this regard, we will work more closely with development partners and the private sector.
“To address long-standing issues in the education sector, a more sustainable model of funding tertiary education will be implemented, including the Student Loan Scheme scheduled to become operational by January 2024.
“A stable macro-economic environment is important to catalyse private investment and accelerate economic growth. We have and shall continue to implement business and investment friendly measures for sustainable growth.
“We expect the economy to grow by a minimum of 3.76 percent, above the forecasted world average. Inflation is expected to moderate to 21.4 percent in 2024.
“In preparing the 2024 Budget, our primary objective has been to sustain our robust foundation for sustainable economic development. A critical focus of this budget and the medium term expenditure framework is Nigeria’s commitment to a greener future,” the President added.
(See the full budget presentation speech for details.)
