On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu submitted the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and the fiscal strategy paper (FSP) to the National Assembly for review and approval.
Gatekeepers News reports that the President is also requesting the Senate and House of Representatives to approve a new loan of $2.2 billion.
This request was communicated through letters that were read during sessions of both the Senate and House on the same day. The federal government has proposed a total expenditure of N47.9 trillion for the 2025 budget, as announced on November 14.
Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, noted that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the MTEF for the years 2025-2027. He emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring that the 2025 budget is finalized and signed into law before December 2024.
Upon approval by the National Assembly, the annual budget is expected to increase significantly from N28.17 billion in 2024 to N47.9 trillion in 2025. President Tinubu has requested that this request be processed expeditiously.
“The Senate is invited to note that, as the 2025 budget of the Federal Government will be prepared based on the parameters and fiscal assumptions of the approved 2025-2027 (MTEF&FSP), it is imperative to seek National Assembly’s expeditious legislative action on this submission,” Tinubu said.
Furthermore, the president seeks to raise $2.2 billion (N1.7 trillion using N800/$) to finance the the budget deficit of N9.1 trillion.
“In accordance with the provisions of Sections 21(1) and 27(1) of the Debt Management Office (DMO) (Establishment, Etc.) Act, 2003, and the approval of the Federal Executive Council, I write to request for a Resolution of the National Assembly (NASS) to raise the sum of N1,767,610,321,779.00 (equivalent of USD2,209,512,902.22 at the Budget Exchange Rate of USD1.00/N800) provided as New External Borrowing in the 2024 Appropriation Act to part finance the budget deficit of N9.179 trillion,” Tinubu added.
“The Right Honourable Speaker may wish to recall that the 2024 Appropriation Act approved the sum of N7,828,529,477,860.00 as New Borrowings to part-finance the 2024 budget deficit of N9.179 trillion.
“The total New Borrowings of N7.828 trillion was further subdivided into New Domestic Borrowing of N6.061 trillion and New External Borrowing of N1.767 trillion.”
