Senate approves amended 2024 budget with N1.2tn increase

The Nigerian Senate passed the 2024 budget for a third reading, witnessing a significant boost of N1.2tn to reach a staggering N28.7tn.

The budget, initially presented by President Bola Tinubu, underwent careful scrutiny and modification during its legislative journey.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio orchestrated the approval through a voice vote, sealing the fate of the amended budget.

The increase, from the initially proposed N27.5tn, reflects the Senate’s commitment to address key financial priorities.

The Appropriation Committee, led by Senator Adeola Solomon, played a pivotal role in shaping the budget.

The Senate outlined key allocations, including Aggregate Expenditure at 28,777,404,073,861; Statutory Transfers at -1,742,786,788,150; Recurrent Expenditure at 8,768,533,030,852; Capital Expenditure at 9,995,143,298,028, and GDP forecasted at 3.88%.

President Bola Tinubu had initially presented a budget of N27.5tn to the National Assembly on November 29. In his proposal, he emphasized a budget deficit of N9.18tn, equivalent to 3.88% of Nigeria’s GDP.

Tinubu explained, “The N9.18 trillion deficit is a notable reduction from the N13.78 trillion deficit recorded in 2023, representing 6.11% of GDP.”

He detailed the financing strategy, including new borrowings of N7.83tn, N298.49bn from Privatization Proceeds, and a drawdown of 1.05 trillion naira on multilateral and bilateral loans earmarked for specific development projects.

The Senate’s expedited handling of the budget, passing it for the third reading after a second reading on December 1, aligns with earlier predictions of its swift approval by the National Assembly.