Nigerian Senate Approves N1.2tn Increase in 2024 Budget

In an unsurprising move on the floor of the Nigerian Senate today, the 2024 budget has been officially raised by a staggering N1.2tn, catapulting the budget from N27.5tn to a revised total of N28.7tn.

The decisive decision comes following the submission of a comprehensive report by the Appropriation Committee, chaired by Senator Solomon Adeola. The breakdown of the revised budget includes aggregate expenditure set at N28,777,404,073,861, statutory transfers at N1,742,786,788,150, recurrent expenditure at N8,768,533,852, capital expenditure at N9,995,143,298,028, and a noteworthy GDP projection of 3.88%.

President Bola Tinubu initially presented the N27.5tn budget proposal on November 29 to a joint session of the National Assembly. In his proposal, President Tinubu had earmarked a budget deficit of N9.18tn for the fiscal year 2024, representing 3.88% of Nigeria’s gross domestic product.

Addressing the nation, President Tinubu commented, “The N9.18 trillion deficit is a marked improvement from the N13.78 trillion deficit recorded in 2023, which represented 6.11% of GDP. This deficit will be covered through new borrowings amounting to N7.83tn, N298.49BN from Privatisation Proceeds, and a N1.05 trillion drawdown on multilateral and bilateral loans secured for specific development projects.”

As reported earlier, the National Assembly has expedited the budget approval process, with the passage anticipated to take place today, Saturday. This significant adjustment reflects the government’s commitment to addressing economic priorities and ensuring sustained development in the coming fiscal year.