…Tasks Executive on judicious implementation
Ignatius Okorocha, Abuja
The Senate on Thursday authorized the issuance of the sum of N45.9trillion from the consolidated revenue to service the 2025 fiscal year.
Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on December 18,2024 presented the sum of N49.7trillion to the joint session of the National Assembly for legislative consideration and approval.
The Senate on December 19, 2024 after subjecting the Bill to second reading after allowing members to debate on the appropriation Bill committed same to sub-committees for budget defence
Senate committee on Appropriation chaired by Senator Solomon Adeola presented his committee report to the Senate for consideration at the committee on Supply chaired the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio and after clause by clause consideration of the Appropriation Bill the upper chamber resolved as follows:
The highlights of the 2025 budget estimate are as follows:
a I. Aggregate Expenditure-
N54,990,165,355,396 I.
b.Statutory Transfers-N 3,645,761 ,358,925
lll. Recurrent Expenditure- N13,064,009,682,673
- Capital Expenditure-N23,963,251 ,624,250
- Debt Servicing -N14,317,142,689,548 Vi.
Fiscal Deficit -N13.08 Trillion
Vil. Deficit/GDP 1.52%
Giving insight into revenue sources that beefed up the internally generated revenue that jerked up 2025 budget to N54.9trillion, Senator Adeola said,”
After the series of meetings held, the Committee on Finance in conjunction with our Committee sourced additional revenue from some revenue generating
Agencies, detailed below:
- Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs)
N1,823, 879, 970, 637
- Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS): #41,497,600,000,000 (Federal Government’s 52% share of the increase in revenue from N22.1 trillion to N825.1
trillion after the deduction of cost of collection).
Nigerian Customs Service (NCS): &41,209,000,000,000 (Federal Government’s share of the increase in
revenue from &6.5 trillion to 9.0 trillion after the deduction of cost of collection).
The total sum of N4,530,479,637 additional revenue realised from the above effort was communicated to
the Executive who applied the funds to address critical challenges and advance the Governments development as follows:
Solid Minerals Sector — $41 trillion only. Re Capitalization of the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) 41.5 trillion only. R-Capitalization of Bank of Industry (Bol) 500 billion only: and iv. Critical Infrastructure Projects (RHID Fund) – 1.5 trillion only to cater for: a.lrigation Development (Through River Basin Development Authorities): 4380 billion
- Transportation Infrastructure (roads & Rail): &700 billion (8300 Billion for construction & rehabilitation of critical roads and 4400 billion for light rail network development in urban centres. c.Border Communities also got the sum of: 50billion.
- Military Barracks Accommodation got the sum of #4250 billion.
- Military Aviation &4120 billion.
The Joint Committee also discussed issues arising from excess of the details of the budget over the bill to the tune of 270 billion.
Shading light on the break down of the 4.5 trillion revenue that was sourced along the line Senator Adeola explained that President Tinubu in his usual tradition,” took proactive steps to address the issue of suspension of the United States Agency that you said, as you are all aware, that the government of Donald Trump recently suspended any further action of this particular donor agency which primarily deals with donation to the health sector.
“And by that similar action, that shows that patients, especially in Nigeria, who are beneficiary of these donor agencies, who are suffering from tuberculosis, from HIV, from polio, and also malaria, which donor agencies have been giving out all these drugs and everything, there will be no supplies.
“So in his proactive step, the president made available the sum of $200 million, which is equivalent to around N300 billion for this particular purpose, so that we can also take a proactive measure, because countries like Uganda and other African nations, who solely depend on these said agencies that have been suspended, is now suffering from these actions of President Donald Trump.
“And aside that, other agencies of the government, including the INEC, the EFCC, the NFIU, the DGSS, the SSS, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the NJC, and other important agencies of the government that came up with genuine arguments for additional funding, were duly considered.
“All these and more are what was done in the current budget that was passed. And if you also observe that this year, there is a quantum leap in the capital expenditure.”
He noted that prior to the 4.9 trillion, added to initial N45.9trillion presented by President Tinubu, National Assembly in the course of appropriation added N7 trillion naira to the existing N49.7 billion and that was as a result of one increase in revenue bringing the budget to N54.9trllion for 2025 fiscal year.
