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N/Assembly Passes N28.7tn 2024 Budget With ₦1.2tn Increase


In a session on Saturday, the National Assembly passed the 2024 Appropriation Bill, endorsing an increased estimate of ₦28.7 trillion. 
The Senate and the House of Representatives jointly approved the budget after considering and adopting the reports of the Appropriation Committees from both chambers.
This new estimate reflects a boost of ₦1.2 trillion and comes 31 days after President Bola Tinubu presented the initial estimate of ₦27.5 trillion to the parliament on November 29, 2023.
Additionally, the National Assembly made adjustments, setting the exchange rate at ₦800 per dollar (up from ₦750). The daily oil production remains at 1.78mbpd, the oil benchmark price at US$77.96, and the GDP growth rate at 3.88 percent – aligning with the executive arm’s proposals.
A detailed breakdown of the Appropriation Act allocates funds as follows: N1,742,786,788,150 for statutory transfers; ₦8,270,960,606,831 for debt servicing; ₦8,768,513,380,852 for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure; and ₦9,995,143,298,028 for the contribution to the development fund for capital expenditure.
In the category of statutory transfers, key allocations include ₦341,625,739,236 for the National Judicial Council, ₦338,924,732,832 for the Niger-Delta Development Commission, and ₦263,043,551,250 for the Universal Basic Education Commission, among others.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio stated that the budget would promptly be transmitted to the president for assent, enabling implementation to commence by January 1.
Reasons for ₦1.2tn Increase in Estimate – Committee Chairpersons
The Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abubakar Bichi, clarified the ₦1.2 trillion increment, citing the rise in the exchange rate and commitments from Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs) to enhance their revenue.
Bichi stated, “The executive proposed ₦750 to a dollar, but after we studied it carefully, we increased it (exchange rate) to ₦800. And also, we had a meeting with the GOEs; we believe that their submissions are not enough. They have agreed to increase their revenue. That’s how we were able to get that ₦1.2 trillion, which we applied to capital.”
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Adeola Olamilekan Solomon, elaborated that the exchange rate adjustment to ₦800 per dollar would generate ₦446 billion as consolidated revenue.
Additionally, government-owned enterprises committed to boosting their revenue by an extra ₦784 billion, totaling the ₦1.2 trillion increase.
Solomon highlighted that the ₦1.2 trillion increment was allocated to the capital votes of various agencies, including transportation, works, housing, and the school feeding program.
Ada Peter
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