President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has considered defence, human capital development, healthcare and education as top priorities in the N27.5 trillion Federal budget estimate for 2024.
This was contained in his maiden 2024 Appropriation Bill President Tinubu to a joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday.
The President christened it Budget of Renewed Hope which is predicated on an exchange rate of N750 to a dollar, an oil benchmark of $77.96 per barrel and an oil production estimate of 1.78 million barrels per day.
The projected deficit is N9.18 trillion, lower than the N13.7 trillion in the 2023 budget.
The President said the deficit will be financed through new borrowings totalling N7.83 trillion, with N298.49 billion to be raised from privatisation proceeds and N1.05 trillion drawdown on multilateral and bilateral loans secured for specific development projects.
President Tinubu said: “An aggregate expenditure of N27.5 trillion is proposed for the Federal Government in 2024, of which the non-debt recurrent expenditure is N9.92 trillion while debt service is projected to be N8.25 trillion and capital expenditure is N8.7 trillion.”
He said Nigeria remains committed to meeting its debt obligations, adding that 45 per cent of expected revenue has been projected for debt servicing.
The President said his administration was committed to broad-based and shared economic prosperity and is reviewing social investment programmes to enhance their implementation and effectiveness.
He said: “The National Social Safety Net project will be expanded to provide targeted cash transfers to poor and vulnerable households.
“In addition, efforts will be made to graduate existing beneficiaries toward productive activities and employment.
“We are currently reviewing our tax and fiscal policies.
“Our target is to increase the ratio of revenue to GDP from less than 10 per cent currently to 18 per cent within the term of this Administration.
“The government will make efforts to further contain financial leakages through effective implementation of key public financial management reforms.
“In view of the limited resources available through the federal budget, we are also exploring Public Private Partnership arrangements to finance critical infrastructure.
“We, therefore, invite the private sector to partner with us to ensure that our fiscal, trade and monetary policies, as well as our developmental programs and projects, succeed in unlocking the latent potential of our people and other natural endowments, in line with our national aspirations.”
The President acknowledged that inflation has trended upward due to weak global conditions.
“To contain the rising domestic prices, we will ensure effective coordination of fiscal and monetary policy measures, and collaborate with sub-national governments to address structural factors driving inflation in Nigeria,” he said.
President Tinubu is hopeful that the 2024 budget proposal meets the 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.”
He added: “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 prioritises human development with particular attention to children, the foundation of our nation.
“To improve the effectiveness of our budget performance, 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 per cent, above the forecasted world average. Inflation is expected to moderate to 21.4 percent in 2024…
“I am confident that these budgetary allocations and directives will set Nigeria on a transformative path towards a sustainable and resilient energy future, fostering economic growth, job creation, and environmental preservation.”
President Tinubu expressed hope that the predictable January-December fiscal year will be sustained.
He urged the National Assembly to ensure that only projects and programmes with equitable benefits are allowed into the 2024 Budget.
The President praised the lawmakers for the swift consideration and passage of the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bills and the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper.
Urging them to ensure that deliberations on the budget are thorough and concluded with reasonable dispatch, President Tinubu said the goal is for the Appropriation Act to come into effect on January 1, 2024.
President Tinubu was accompanied by Vice President Kashim Shettima and others, such as: Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, Ministers Nyesom Wike (Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Wale Edun (Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy), Muhammed Idris (Information and National Orientation), Simon Lalong (Labour and Employment), Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), and Babagana Zulum (Borno).
– The Nation
