Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has announced that the Federal Government will financially support measures to restore macroeconomic stability and alleviate the adverse effects of subsidy removal in Nigeria. During the presentation of the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja, Tinubu expressed confidence in the collaboration with the National Assembly to ensure thorough deliberations on the budget, with the goal of implementing the Appropriation Act by January 1, 2024.
Tinubu acknowledged the historical significance of ending the fuel subsidy regime as his first fiscal intervention as President and emphasized subsequent efforts, including negotiating supplementary budgets to address national security, invest in infrastructure, and support vulnerable households. Presenting the Budget of Renewed Hope, he outlined priorities such as job-rich economic growth, macroeconomic stability, a better investment environment, enhanced human capital development, poverty reduction, and increased access to social security.
Highlighting the challenging economic conditions globally and domestically, Tinubu assured effective coordination of fiscal and monetary policies to address inflation driven by weak global conditions. He reported the performance of the 2023 budget, stating an aggregate revenue of 11.045 trillion naira, which covered the 24.82 trillion naira budget with a deficit of about 6.1 percent of GDP.
For the 2024 budget, Tinubu proposed an aggregate expenditure of 27.5 trillion naira, focusing on critical infrastructure projects, reducing the deficit to 3.88 percent of GDP, and financing it through new borrowings, privatization proceeds, and drawdowns on multilateral and bilateral loans. The President emphasized commitments to social investment programs, debt obligations, tax and fiscal policy reviews, and public-private partnerships for critical infrastructure funding.
In response, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, called for the unbundling of government agencies for efficiency and expenditure reduction, while the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Tajudeen Abbas, stressed the importance of prioritizing social welfare programs, job creation, youth empowerment, education, healthcare, and infrastructure development in the budget. Both leaders expressed confidence in President Tinubu’s leadership and the collective efforts of the National Assembly to address the critical needs of the Nigerian people.
Quest: Emmanuel kelvin.