The National Assembly has passed N28.5 trillion as the budget for the 2024 fiscal year, a significant increase from what was proposed. A review of the breakdown of the budget shows that some of the ministries had a significant increase in their budgetary allocation, and others slightly.
On Saturday, December 30, 2023, the National Assembly passed N28.5 trillion as the budget for the 2024 fiscal year, 30 days after President Bola Tinubu presented the appropriation bill to the National Assembly. The budget was jerked to N28.7 trillion from N27.5 trillion presented by the president. This is an increase of more than N1.2 trillion.
According to the Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Abubakar Bichi, the increment was due to revenue prospects from Government Owned Enterprises and possible inflation. He also noted that the assembly considered inflation and the current exchange rate to the dollar in its decision-making.
Bichi said, “We have inflation and exchange rate for the dollar. The executive proposed N750 to the dollar, but after we studied carefully, we looked at it and we knew it was unrealistic.”
Also, the speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, said the National Assembly raised the budget to ensure that the desired impact on the economy and the people is achieved. He also noted that the budget was approved after diligent scrutiny.
He said, “After we received the budget proposal, we worked extra hours, no weekends, no breaks, even during Christmas we had to work to ensure that we’re able to deliver on our promise to Mr. President that the budget would be passed before the end of the year.”
A look through the breakdown of the budget shows that the allocation to some of the ministries increased significantly, and some others, slightly. Some ministries had their budget decreased, but major changes were seen in ministries with increased budgetary allocation.
Ministry of defence budget
One of them is the ministry of defence, which had a 4.4 per cent increase in its budgetary allocation for 2024. In the proposed budget, the ministry was allocated N1.58 trillion.
The minister of defence, Mr Badaru Abubakar, pleaded for an upward review of the budget. He disclosed that the ministry intends to use part of its 2024 budget to end the insurgency, by ensuring that terrorists rooted in one location did not go to another to continue their heinous activities.
“The ministry is totally committed to actualising its core mandate and I believe the Honourable Members and Senators will assist to achieve this mandate. On this note, I especially appeal to the distinguished Senators and Honourable Members to review upwards the ministry’s overhead cost due to the economic situation in order to move the ministry forward,” the minister said.
The ministry’s request for an upward review was granted as the National Assembly raised its budgetary allocation to N1.65 trillion.
Ministry of information
Like defence, the ministry of information also had an increase in its budgetary allocation. Recall that, both the Senate and House of Representatives committees on information had complained about the meagre allocation provided for the ministry in 2024.
The House Committee Chairman, Rep. Olusola Fatoba (APC, Ekiti), urged for increased funding for the ministry by aggregating all media budgets under its purview.
He said: “The agencies are expected to generate revenue for the country by running after the people they are regulating, but were not allotted anything in the budget. I don’t think this is the right thing.”
The ministry’s allocation was then increased by about 10 per cent. The budget was reviewed upward from N49 billion to N54 billion.
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Ministry of trade and investment
As provided in the appropriation bill, the inistry of trade, industry, and investment was allocated N126 billion in the 2024 budget, but compared to the approved budget, it was pegged at N188 billion – a 48.9 per cent increase.
This is despite the backlash the ministry received at the budget defence with the Senate committee on trade and investment over the allocation of a N1 billion budget proposal for a trip to Geneva.
A vocal committee member, Sen. Adam Oshiomole (APC, Edo north), criticised the estimate, describing it as humongous and a waste of public funds. He also accused the minister of always abandoning her desk and on permanent visits to the Bank of Industry.
“I see that you intend to travel to Geneva next year and you have budgeted over one billion Naira for that. We can’t keep going on with over-bloated teams on trips abroad. Use the experts we have in your offices in that country to save cost,” he said.
Ministry of police affairs
Also, the budget for the ministry of police affairs was increased by 3.3 per cent to N969 billion. The proposed budget for the ministry was N938 billion.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, had earlier described the police force as poor, abandoned and neglected for years, with ill-motivated personnel.
He said police personnel were operating in a very difficult environment as a result of the neglect they have suffered over the years, especially in the area of inadequate manpower and operational facilities.
Ministry of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation
Unlike the others, the ministry of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation had its budget decreased by 34.6 per cent. The ministry had been allocated N201 billion in the proposed budget, but the budgetary allocation provided for the ministry in the approved budget was reduced to N131 billion.
This is despite the ministry’s demand for a budget increase, noting that the budgetary envelope for the ministry in the 2024 budget was incapable of tackling poverty in the country.
The minister, Betta Edu, at the budget defence hearing, said, “I will plead humbly and sincerely with the chairman, co-chair and members of this great committee that as we look into Nigeria as a nation, the burden lies on us to actually tackle the issue of poverty with sincerity.”
Nigerians can keep tabs on the implementation of the budget by the different ministries here.
