- The National Assembly reviewed the 2025 budget to correct discrepancies, adjusting both capital and recurrent expenditure allocations
- While the total budget remained at N54.99 trillion, several sectors saw budget increases, including education, healthcare, and agriculture
- The House Committee identified errors in the previously approved budget, prompting adjustments to ensure more accurate allocations across ministries
In a move to correct discrepancies in the 2025 national budget, the National Assembly conducted a review session on Tuesday, February 18, revising the capital and recurrent expenditure components.
While the total budget figure remains unchanged at N54.99 trillion, lawmakers adjusted the allocations, reducing capital expenditure by over N500 billion and increasing recurrent expenditure by the same amount.
The decision to review the budget followed the identification of errors in the figures approved by the legislature last week.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives reviewed the budget during their plenary sessions, revising estimates for several ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
Some saw increases in their budget allocations, while others were subject to downward revisions.
Chairman of House Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive, representing the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State, presented the motion for the review.
Waive explained that the errors were identified by the Joint Appropriations Committee during the final compilation of the budget figures.
“The Joint Appropriation Committee noticed errors in the figures earlier passed,” Waive said, addressing the National Assembly.
He reassured that the total budget figure of N54.99 trillion, alongside statutory transfers of N3.64 trillion and N14.32 trillion, remained unchanged. The key revisions, however, impacted the recurrent expenditure of N13.56 trillion and the capital expenditure of N23.44 trillion.
As part of the revisions, budget estimates for several important sectors were adjusted.
The Ministries of Defence, Police Affairs, the National Pension Commission, and the Universities Pensions Scheme, along with other related agencies, saw reductions in their allocations. Conversely, the Presidencies, the Federal Ministry of Information, the National Security Adviser’s Office, and several key ministries, including Agriculture, Education, Environment, Health, and Transportation, saw their funding proposals increased for the 2025 fiscal year.
Despite these adjustments, Waive assured that the overall budget would not be affected.
“The House's responsibility is to make the necessary corrections, and this process will not alter the N54.99 trillion total,” he added.
2025 budget to be passed before January 30, scales second reading at National Assembly
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, assured that the National Assembly will pass the 2025 Appropriation Bill before January 30.
This is even as the budget scaled the second reading at the legislative chamber during plenary on Thursday, December 19, after the legislators extensively debated it.
