Kehinde Fajobi
The Federal Government has justified President Bola Tinubu’s request to increase the 2025 budget from ₦49.7 trillion to ₦54.2 trillion, citing plans to strengthen key financial institutions and infrastructure.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Atiku Bagudu explained the decision on Wednesday while speaking to journalists after seeing off the President at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, ahead of his trip to France.
Tinubu’s request, detailed in a February 3 letter to House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, sought an additional ₦4.5 trillion to support the Bank of Agriculture, the Bank of Industry, and the diversification agenda, particularly in the solid minerals sector.
Bagudu said government-owned enterprises, including the Nigeria Customs Service, had demonstrated the capacity to generate more revenue than initially projected.
“You will recall, Mr President submitted the ₦49tn budget to the National Assembly, and legislative work commenced,” he said.
“The legislative work continued with interactions between the executive and the National Assembly. The National Assembly and the Economic Management Team continued to interrogate all figures.
“In that process, the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senate Committee on National Planning, and Senate Committee on Finance established that we can generate more revenue by tasking all the institutions to do more, and the Federal Inland Revenue Service confirmed the ability to do more than was submitted.”
He added, “Equally, it was established that the government-owned enterprises, as well as the Customs Service, could contribute more revenue.
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“So, additional revenue amounting to over ₦4.5 trillion was established, and this was taken to the President.
“And he guided that this additional revenue should be used further to strengthen the Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry, support the diversification program by putting more money in the solid minerals sector and infrastructure projects.”
Addressing potential adjustments to the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), Bagudu noted that modifications were inevitable.
“Recall that even when the budget was submitted, MTEF was amended.
“The MTEF that was initially approved was for a budget of less than ₦49tn, so it goes together, and so the consequential amendment to the MTEF will certainly follow.”