N’Assembly Reverses Passage of N54.9 Trillion 2025 Budget Over Errors

The National Assembly has rescinded its decision on the passage of the 2025 budget bill due to errors identified in allocations to capital and recurrent expenditures.

The reversal, which took place on Tuesday, was necessitated by the need for adjustments in key sectors.

Despite the corrections, the total budget size remains unchanged at N54.99 trillion.

The Senate and House of Representatives amended the budget after discrepancies were found during the final cleaning and realignment process. The motion for adjustment was moved by Senator Adeola Olamilekan, Chairman of the Joint Committee on Appropriations, and Hon. Abubakar Kabir, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive, explained that the joint committee identified “inadvertent errors” in the breakdown of allocations.

“At the point of cleaning and realignments, the joint committee on appropriations discovered some inadvertent errors in items passed by the House of Representatives and Senate,” Waive stated.

Key Adjustments in Budget Allocations

Following the corrections, the recurrent expenditure allocation has been increased by N524 billion, bringing it to N13.588 trillion. Meanwhile, capital expenditure has been reduced by the same amount to N23.439 trillion.

The budget breakdown is now as follows:

• Total Expenditure: N54.99 trillion
• Statutory Transfers: N3.65 trillion
• Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure: N13.64 trillion
• Capital Expenditure: N23.96 trillion
• Debt Servicing: N14.32 trillion
• Fiscal Deficit: N13.08 trillion

The Senate also made specific corrections in allocations across ministries and key sectors:

• Ministry of Defence: Reduced from N2.51 trillion to N2.49 trillion.
• Ministry of Police Affairs: Adjusted from N1.225 trillion to N1.224 trillion.
• Total Pensions, Gratuity, and Retirement Benefits: Increased from N950 billion to N1.44 trillion.
• Military Pensions and Gratuities: Adjusted from N252.6 billion to N383.9 billion.
• National Pension Commission (PENCOM): Increased from N529.4 billion to N804.7 billion.

Similarly, reductions were made in capital allocations for ministries, including:

• Presidency: Reduced from N144.4 billion to N142.7 billion.
• Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security: Adjusted from N1.95 trillion to N1.83 trillion.
• Federal Ministry of Works: Revised from N2.04 trillion to N2 trillion.
• Federal Ministry of Education: Reduced from N953.9 billion to N944.6 billion.

Tinubu’s Economic Projections

While presenting the budget, President Bola Tinubu assured Nigerians of plans to stabilize the economy. He projected a significant decline in inflation from 34.6% to 15% by the end of 2025.

“The 2025 budget projects that inflation will decline significantly from the current 34.6% to 15%,” Tinubu stated.

He also vowed to stabilize the exchange rate, predicting an improvement from N1,700 per dollar to N1,500 per dollar.

“These projections are critical for stabilizing the economy and ensuring sustainable growth,” he noted.

Revenue Sources to Fund the Budget

President Tinubu outlined sources of additional revenue that led to the increase in the budget size from the initially proposed N49.7 trillion to N54.99 trillion:

• Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS): N1.4 trillion
• Nigeria Customs Service (NCS): N1.2 trillion
• Other Government Agencies: N1.8 trillion

These funds are expected to bridge fiscal gaps and support infrastructure development.