After the Senate adopted the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for 2025–2027 on November 22, the Federal Government approved the 2025 budget plan on Monday.
President Bola Tinubu is now scheduled to deliver the proposed N47.96 trillion budget to the National Assembly’s joint session on Wednesday, according to Punch Online.
The presentation, which was originally planned for Tuesday, was rescheduled to give the executive arm more time to complete important budgetary changes.
Sabi Abdullahi, the Minister of State for Agriculture, and a top National Assembly official confirmed the delay on Monday.
“The budget presentation has been rescheduled from Tuesday to Wednesday,” Abdullahi told Senate Press Corps reporters. The CEO must make a few last-minute changes.
During a plenary session, Senate President Godswill Akpabio had earlier declared that President Tinubu would deliver the budget to the House of Representatives on Tuesday. In order to allow senators to gather in the Red Chamber before making their way in procession to the House chamber for the presentation, he added that the plenary would start at 10:30 a.m.
The importance of making sure the proposed budget is completely polished before formally submitting it to the legislature is reflected in the updated schedule.
Abubakar Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, reaffirmed that the budget amount is still N47.96 trillion, as specified in the MTEF, after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting. He revealed that N9.22 trillion would be borrowed in new funds.
On November 14, 2024, the council gave its approval to the MTEF and Fiscal Strategy Paper. The MTEF, which describes the Federal Government’s three-year budgetary policy, is an essential planning instrument. It sets macroeconomic goals and assumptions to direct national budgeting, including forecasts for important economic variables including GDP growth, inflation, oil prices, and currency rates.
The following criteria are established by the MTEF for the 2025–2027 timeframe:
- Oil price benchmark: $75 per barrel
- Oil production target: 2.06 million barrels per day
- Exchange rate: N1,400 to the US dollar
- GDP growth rate: 4.6%
With a fiscal deficit of N13.13 trillion, or 3.89% of GDP, the total estimated spending for 2025 is N47.96 trillion. The projected borrowing amount for 2025 is N13.8 trillion.
“Today, the Federal Executive Council adopted the 2025 budget plan with revisions as instructed by Mr. President,” Bagudu said following the FEC meeting. The framework is predicated on a benchmark oil price of $75 per barrel, a daily production of 2.06 million barrels, and a N1,400 to dollar exchange rate. The National Assembly-approved MTEF already takes these estimates into account.
He added that N34.82 trillion is the overall estimated revenue for 2025, which represents a 36.8% increase over the 2024 estimate.
Although the budget presentation has been postponed, Bagudu clarified that this will not interfere with the implementation period, which runs from January to December. A smooth procedure is ensured by the Senate’s prior ratification of the MTEF, which clarifies the budget’s size and assumptions.
Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, affirmed that the Executive and the National Assembly are still in communication. He disclosed that the presentation was moved to Wednesday, December 18, in part because of these discussions.
Bagudu also brought up President Tinubu’s earlier comments, in which he stressed the National Assembly’s oversight duties during the 2024 budget presentation. Emphasizing the need of openness and cooperation between the Executive and Legislature, the President called for ministries, departments, and agencies to adhere strictly to the legislative process.
Bagudu said in closing that this closer bond has boosted engagement, closed gaps, and increased trust in the budget’s execution.
That, in my opinion, has contributed to the increased trust between the legislative and the executive branch to the point where the president is committed to presenting the budget within 48 hours.
Although it might be difficult, we cannot make assumptions about the National Assembly in light of all those steps to boost confidence. However, considering the history, trust, and value of the relationship with the administration, especially with Mr. President, we think the National Assembly will take this into consideration quickly.
I must note, though, that our constitution has always allowed the administration to continue incurring expenses, operating, and spending money even if a budget is not approved by December 31. It is among the creative features of the Nigerian Constitution. Because the Constitution foresees that it may not be passed by the end of the year, expenditure will be hampered even if we expect the budget will be signed, Bagudu added.
He maintained that the nation can both reach and exceed the MTEF’s target of 2.06 million barrels of crude oil per day.
“Is it possible? We’ve done that before, so I think it’s extremely doable. By this point, we should have more than 3 million barrels per day, according to our national planning considerations. Additionally, as you may remember, NNPC has published important discoveries even outside of the conventional producing regions, like Nasarawa State and Kolmani.
Bagudu explained, “This isn’t too ambitious, but Mr. President accepted it and will make individuals accountable for these numbers.”
Regarding the 2024 budget’s performance, he stated: “As of September 30, 2024, revenue inflows total N14.55 trillion, which is 75% of the prorated amount. The budget’s revenue estimate is N25.8 trillion.” Given that this is as of September 30, I’m confident it’s higher now because the country is no longer bleeding due to the brave deregulation of the petroleum industry and a strong performance in the non-oil revenue stream.
“The 2024 budget projected spending of N21 trillion, of which N8.9 trillion was allocated to debt payment, N4.2 trillion to personnel, and N5.86 trillion was released for capital expenditures, of which MDAs used 51% for projects.”
According to Bagudu, the budget’s debt service performance is 100%.
“We’re not going into default. The challenging non-recourse to Ways and Means beyond the legal bounds was one of the ways that Mr. President, under the direction of the coordinating minister of the economy, persuaded the creditors and the investing public that we would never default on our promises.
According to the minister, “equally, the capital performance is about 51% and the staff and pension performance is about 100%.”