President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to present the 2024 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday. This confirmation came from Dr. Ali Umoru, the Secretary of Research and Information at the National Assembly, who was at the Senate addressing protocol arrangements.
In anticipation of the budget presentation, stringent measures will be in place to manage the limited space and ensure security within the National Assembly Complex. Reliable sources in the upper chamber revealed that President Tinubu has formally communicated his intention to address the joint session, with the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, expected to read the letter during Tuesday’s plenary.
President Tinubu had submitted the 2024 – 2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) to the National Assembly three weeks ago. The proposed expenditure for the 2024 fiscal year stands at N26.1 trillion.
Following two weeks of deliberations and interactions with heads of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) on revenue and expenditure projections, the Senate’s Committee of Finance approved the MTEF. This approval includes the N26.1 trillion proposed as the 2024 budget and other parameters outlined by President Tinubu.
Key parameters approved by the Senate include new borrowings of N7.8 trillion, an oil price benchmark of $73.96, oil production set at 1.78 million barrels per day, GDP growth rate at 3.76%, inflation rate at 21.40%, suggested benchmark exchange rate at N700 to $1, and a projected budget deficit of N9.04 trillion.
President Tinubu’s budget proposal also details spending plans, with N16.9 trillion as retained revenue, N9 trillion budget deficit (including Government-Owned Enterprises), N7.8 trillion in new borrowings, N1.3 trillion in statutory transfers, an estimated N8.2 trillion in debt service, N234.6 billion in the sinking fund, N1.27 trillion in pension, gratuity, and retiree benefits, and a total recurrent (non-debt) expenditure of N10.2 trillion, along with N4.49 trillion allocated for capital expenditure.
