Featured, Politics
By Anthony Isibor
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has announced a budget of N47.9 trillion for 2025 fiscal year with the projected revenue of N34.82 trillion to fund the budget.
Presenting the budget to the lawmakers at the joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday in Abuja, Tinubu said that the government expenditure for 2025 was projected at N47.90 trillion, including N15.81 trillion for debt servicing and N13.08 trillion or 3.89 per cent of GDP to make up the budget deficit.
According to him, the Budget projects a decline in inflation rate from the current rate of 34.6 per cent to 15 per cent in 2025, while the exchange rate will improve from approximately N1,700 per US dollar to N1,500 and a base crude oil production assumption of 2.06 million barrels per day (mbpd).
He stated that although the budget is ambitious, it is also necessary to secure Nigeria’s future.
Giving the breakdown of the budget, he said that N4.91 trillion was allocated to Defence and Security, N4.06 trillion to Infrastructure, N2.48 trillion to Health and N3.52 trillion to Education.
President Tinubu stated that the budget, which is tagged Budget of Restoration: Securing Peace, Rebuilding Prosperity, strikes at the very core of the Renewed Hope Agenda and “demonstrates our commitment to stabilizing the economy, improving lives, and repositioning our country for greater performance”.
He announced that the 2025 Budget seeks to restore macroeconomic stability, enhance the business environment, foster inclusive growth, employment, and poverty reduction, as well as promote equitable income distribution and human capital development.
The President who acknowledged that there have been difficulties and sacrifices however called on Nigerians to keep faith with the process to arrive at collectively desired destination
“The road of reforms is now clearly upon us, and as the President of this blessed nation, I know this less-travelled road has not been easy.
“We must build on the progress we have made in the past 18th months in restructuring our economy and ensuring it is strong enough to withstand the headwinds of any future shocks of the global downturn.
“The 2025 budget that I present today is one of restoration. It seeks to consolidate the key policies we have instituted to restructure our economy, boost human capital development, increase the volume of trade and investments, bolster oil and gas production, get our manufacturing sector humming again and ultimately increase the competitiveness of our economy.
“We do not intend to depart from this critical path to strengthen the Nigerian economy. Just as I believe in the resilience of our economy to withstand the current challenges, I also strongly believe in the resilience of the Nigerian people. Again, I summon the unstoppable Nigerian spirit to lead us on as we work to rebuild the fabric of our economy and existence.
“The improvements we witnessed in the 2024 budget have led us into the 2025 budget. The goals of advancing national security, creating economic opportunities, investing in our youthful population, infrastructure development, and national re-orientation form the core of the 2025 budget. But more than that, this will lay a solid foundation for Nigeria’s future growth trajectory,” he said.
The President also revealed that reforms instituted from the 2024 budget are beginning to yield results and expressed confidence that Nigerians will soon experience a better and more functional economy.
According to him, the Nigerian economy grew by 3.46 percent in the third quarter of 2024, up from 2.54 per cent in the third quarter of 2023, Foreign Reserves now stand at nearly 42 billion US dollars, providing a robust buffer against external shocks, rising exports are reflected in the current trade surplus, which now stands at 5.8 trillion naira, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
“In 2024, we achieved N14.55 trillion in revenue, meeting 75 per cent of our target as of the third quarter, N21.60 trillion in expenditure, representing 85 per cent of our target, also in the third quarter,” he added.
A.I
Dec. 18, 2024
Tags: President Bola Tinubu
