- President Bola Tinubu has presented the 2025 budget proposal to the National Assembly
- The budget targets revenue of N34.82 trillion, and projects government expenditure at N47.90 trillion, which includes N15.81 trillion for debt service, leaving a N13.08 trillion deficit
- Defence and security, infrastructure, health, and education sectors received larger allocations
President Bola Tinubu has presented the 2025 Appropriation Bill of N47.90 trillion to a joint session of the National Assembly.
The appropriation bill, titled, ‘The restoration budget: Securing peace, building prosperity,’ was presented on Wednesday, December 18.
During the presentation, President Tinubu said the budget primarily focuses on human capital development and the country’s economic growth in line with his administration’s ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda.
He noted the impact of his administration’s policies and programmes in the last 18 months, saying that though they are tough, they would lead to a collectively desired destination.
The president said, “The journey of economic renewal and institutional development, which we began 18 months ago as a nation, is very much underway. It is not a journey of our choosing but one we had to embark on for Nigeria to have a real chance at greatness. I thank every Nigerian for embarking on this journey of reforms and transformation with us.
“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; that there have been difficulties and sacrifices. They will not be in vain. And we must keep faith with the process to arrive at our collectively desired destination.
“We must build on the progress we have made in the past 18 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.”
Key assumptions of the budget
The president stated that the 2025 budget proposal targets revenue of N34.82 trillion and projected government expenditure of N47.90 trillion, which includes N15.81 trillion for debt service, leaving a N13.08 trillion deficit.
He added that the budget projects Nigeria’s inflation to reduce from 34.60 per cent as of November 2024 to 15 per cent in 2025.
The president stated that the budget proposes that the exchange rate will drop from about N1,700/$ to N1,500/$ and a crude oil production assumption of 2.06 million barrels per day (mbpd) from the current 1.5 mbpd.
President Tinubu said, “The numbers for our 2025 budget proposal tell a bold and exciting story of the direction we are taking to retool and revamp the socio-economic fabric of our society.
“In 2025, we are targeting N34.82 trillion in revenue to fund the budget. Government expenditure in the same year is projected to be N47.90 trillion, including N15.81 trillion for debt servicing. A total of N13.08 trillion, or 3.89 per cent of GDP, will make up the budget deficit.
“This is an ambitious but necessary budget to secure our future.
“The budget projects inflation will decline from the current rate of 34.6 per cent to 15 per cent next year, 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).”
Priorities of the 2025 budget
President Tinubu stated that building on the success of the 2024 budget, the 2025 proposal seeks to restore macroeconomic stability; enhance the business environment; foster inclusive growth, employment, and poverty reduction, and promote equitable income distribution and human capital development.
He said to achieve its objectives, the 2025 budget prioritised four key sectors which got a larger share of the allocation. They are; defence and security, N4.91 trillion; infrastructure, N4.06 trillion; health, N2.48 trillion and education, N3.52 trillion.
Focus on education, human capital development, national security
In the 2025 budget, the education sector was allocated N3.5 trillion, out of which N826.90 billion will be dedicated to infrastructure development, including support for Universal Basic Education (UBEC) and the establishment of nine new higher educational institutions.
Tinubu highlighted the loans provided to students of some tertiary institutions with N34 billion disbursements through the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
“Our administration has so far disbursed N34 billion to over 300,000 students via the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
“In the 2025 Budget, we have made provision for N826.90 billion for infrastructure development in the educational sector. This provision also includes those for the Universal Basic Education (UBEC) and the nine new higher educational institutions,” he said.
To enhance human capital, the president noted that the 2025 budget includes continued investments in healthcare, social services, and national security.
“Human capital development, our people are our greatest resource. That is why we are breaking record investment in education, healthcare, our social services,” he remarked.
“This budget reflects the huge commitment to strengthening the foundation of a robust economy while addressing the critical sectors essential for the growth and development we envision; and secure our nation,” he said.
FEC gives final approval to N47.96 trillion 2025 budget proposal
Meanwhile, TheRadar reported that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) gave final approval to the 2025 budget proposal of N47.96 trillion.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, to State House correspondents after the last FEC meeting of 2024, held on Monday, December 16, at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
