President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. The announcement, made by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during Thursday’s plenary session, marks a crucial step in the nation’s fiscal planning process.
The presentation, set to take place in the House of Representatives Chamber, comes on the heels of the President’s submission of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) for 2025-2027 to both legislative chambers. This comprehensive financial blueprint outlines an ambitious N47.9 trillion budget proposal, reflecting the administration’s economic vision and priorities for the coming year.
The MTEF/FSP, which serves as the foundation for the 2025 budget, presents several key economic parameters that signal the government’s optimistic outlook for Nigeria’s economic future. The framework incorporates an oil price benchmark of $75 per barrel, demonstrating confidence in global oil market stability. This is complemented by a projected daily oil production target of 2.06 million barrels, suggesting plans to boost the nation’s oil sector performance.
Perhaps most notably, the framework accounts for current economic realities with an exchange rate projection of N1,400 to the US dollar, reflecting the administration’s pragmatic approach to currency valuation. The government has set an ambitious GDP growth target of 6.4%, indicating its commitment to achieving substantial economic expansion in the coming year.
In response to the MTEF/FSP submission, Senate President Akpabio has directed the Senate Committee on Finance, National Planning, and Economic Affairs to conduct a thorough review of the documents within a one-week timeframe. This accelerated timeline underscores the urgency of establishing a solid fiscal foundation for the upcoming budget deliberations.
The proposed budget of N47.9 trillion represents a significant fiscal package that will require careful consideration by lawmakers. The presentation will provide President Tinubu with an opportunity to outline his administration’s spending priorities, economic reforms, and strategies for addressing key national challenges, including infrastructure development, security, and social welfare programs.
The timing of the budget presentation is particularly significant as it comes during a period of extensive economic reforms initiated by the Tinubu administration. These reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies and foreign exchange market adjustments, have had far-reaching implications for the nation’s economic landscape and will likely influence the budget’s implementation.
The forthcoming budget presentation is expected to detail how the government plans to navigate these reforms while maintaining fiscal responsibility and promoting economic growth. It will also likely address strategies for managing inflation, boosting non-oil revenues, and attracting investment to key sectors of the economy.
The choice of the House of Representatives Chamber as the venue for this joint session emphasizes the collaborative nature of the budgeting process and the importance of legislative oversight in fiscal matters. The presentation will bring together members of both chambers of the National Assembly, providing a platform for comprehensive legislative scrutiny of the government’s financial proposals.
As the nation anticipates this crucial budget presentation, attention will focus on how the administration plans to balance ambitious development goals with fiscal sustainability. The proposed figures and projections in the MTEF/FSP suggest a careful consideration of both domestic and global economic factors that could impact Nigeria’s financial position in the coming year.
The upcoming budget presentation represents more than just a fiscal exercise; it serves as a statement of the government’s economic priorities and its vision for national development. How well these plans align with national needs and expectations, and how effectively they can be implemented, will be crucial factors in determining Nigeria’s economic trajectory in 2025 and beyond.
As Tuesday’s presentation approaches, stakeholders across various sectors of the economy will be watching closely to understand how the proposed budget will affect their operations and contribute to the broader goal of national economic development.
