President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday presented a 2025 budget of N47.9 trillion to the National Assembly.

The president explained that in 2025, his administration would direct N4.91 trillion to defence and security; N4.06 trillion to in­frastructure, with health sector getting N2.48 trillion, while edu­cation would gulp N3.52 trillion.

Accordingly, N34.82 trillion is targeted as revenue, with expen­diture projected at N47.90 trillion, including N15.81 trillion for debt servicing.

Describing the fiscal policy as ‘2025 Budget of Restoration, Securing Peace, Building Pros­perity,’ Tinubu acknowledged that though the projections were ambitious, they were, however, necessary to secure the country’s future.

This is as he highlighted a total of N13.08 trillion, or 3.89 percent of GDP, as deficit, and a decline in inflation from 34.6 percent in 2024 to 15 percent in 2025.

He underscored an improve­ment in forex “from approximate­ly N1,700 per US dollar to N1,500, and a base crude oil production assumption of 2.06 million bar­rels per day (mbpd).”

The president explained that Nigeria’s economy grew by 3.46 percent in the third quarter of 2024, up from 2.54 percent in the third quarter of 2023 with the na­tion’s foreign reserves standing at nearly $42 billion.

“In 2025, we are targeting N34.82 trillion in revenue to fund the budget. Government expen­diture in the same year is project­ed to be N47.90 trillion, including N15.81 trillion for debt servicing. A total of N13.08 trillion, or 3.89 percent of GDP, will make up the budget deficit.

“Our rising exports are reflect­ed in the current trade surplus, which now stands at N5.8 trillion, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

“These clear results of gradu­al recovery, among others, reflect the resilience of our economy and the impact of deliberate pol­icy choices we made from the out­set,” the president maintained.

Sectoral allocations in the 2025 budget shows an astronom­ical improvement from previous years with defence and security attracting N2.98 trillion out of the total budget of N21.83 trillion in 2022.

In the 2023 budget, the mili­tary alone gulped N1.55 trillion, showing a breakdown of N917.55 billion for personnel costs, N78.53 billion for overhead and over N297 billion for capital expenditure.

Also, in the 2023 supplementa­ry budget, defence and security got N605 billion out of the total amount of N2,176,791,286,033.

In the last five years, budget­ary allocations to the Ministry of Defence have risen by 134.80 percent, from N589.955 billion in 2019 to N2.98 trillion, last year.

Overall, the Federal Govern­ment had budgeted $17.17 billion for security and defence from 2018 to date.

Tinubu in his speech stressed that in 2025, the country would reduce the importation of petro­leum products, while increasing export of finished petroleum products.

This is as the government foresees increased agricultural production in what the president described as “bumper harvests driven by enhanced security, re­ducing reliance on food imports.

“Increased foreign exchange inflows through Foreign Portfolio Investments.

“Higher crude oil output and exports, coupled with a substan­tial reduction in upstream oil and gas production costs.”

He maintained that “the 2025 budget proposal again reinforces our administration’s roadmap to secure peace, prosperity, and hope for a greater future for our beloved nation. This budget chris­tened, ‘Budget of Restoration: Securing Peace, Rebuilding Pros­perity,’ strikes at the very core of our Renewed Hope Agenda and demonstrates our commitment to stabilising the economy, improv­ing lives, and repositioning our country for greater performance.

“The journey of economic re­newal and institutional develop­ment, which we began 18 months ago as a nation is very much underway. It is not a journey of our choosing, but one we had to embark on for Nigeria to have a real chance at greatness. I thank every Nigerian for embarking on this journey of reforms and transformation with us.

“The road of reforms is now clearly upon us, and as the presi­dent of this blessed nation, I know this less-travelled road has not been easy. That there have been difficulties and sacrifices. They will not be in vain. And we must keep faith with the process to arrive at our collectively desired destination.

“We must build on the prog­ress we have made in the past eighteen months in restructuring our economy and ensuring it is strong enough to withstand the headwinds of any future shocks of the global downturn.

“The 2025 budget that I pres­ent today is one of restoration. It seeks to consolidate the key poli­cies we have instituted to restruc­ture our economy, boost human capital development, increase the volume of trade and investments, bolster oil and gas production, get our manufacturing sector humming again and ultimately increase the competitiveness of our economy.

“We do not intend to depart from this critical path to strength­en the Nigerian economy. Just as I believe in the resilience of our economy to withstand the cur­rent challenges, I also strongly believe in the resilience of the Nigerian people. Again, I sum­mon the unstoppable Nigerian spirit to lead us on as we work to rebuild the fabric of our economy and existence.

“The improvements we wit­nessed in the 2024 budget have led us into the 2025 budget. The goals of advancing national security, creating economic opportunities, investing in our youthful popula­tion, infrastructure development, and national re-orientation form the core of the 2025 budget. But more than that, this will lay a sol­id foundation for Nigeria’s future growth trajectory.”

On the 2024 budget, Tinubu emphasised that the administra­tion achieved a N14.55 trillion rev­enue, meeting 75 percent target in the third quarter (Q3).

This is followed by a N21.60 trillion in expenditure, represent­ing 85 percent target within the same period.

According to him, the impact of these milestones are gradually being felt in the economy.

He said the economy grew by 3.46 percent in the third quarter of 2024, up from 2.54 percent in the third quarter of 2023.

“Our foreign reserves now stand at nearly 42 billion US dol­lars, providing a robust buffer against external shocks.

“Our rising exports are reflect­ed in the current trade surplus, which now stands at 5.8 trillion naira, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

“These clear results of gradu­al recovery, among others, reflect the resilience of our economy and the impact of deliberate policy choices we made from the outset.”

President Tinubu called for a united effort in repositioning the country, as he assured that the 2025 budget seeks to restore mac­roeconomic stability, enhance the business environment, foster inclusive growth, employment, and poverty reduction, and to promote equitable income distri­bution and human capital devel­opment.

“Our budgetary allocations reflect the administration’s stra­tegic priorities, especially in the implementation of the Renewed Hope Agenda and its developmen­tal objectives.

“As we embark on implement­ing the 2025 budget, our steps are deliberate, our decisions resolute, and our priorities are clear. This budget reflects a renewed com­mitment to strengthening the foundation of a robust economy, while addressing critical sectors essential for the growth and development we envision,” he stressed.

On security, he maintained that the administration consid­ers it the foundation of all prog­ress.

“We have significantly in­creased funding for the military, paramilitary, and police forces to secure the nation, protect our borders, and consolidate govern­ment control over every inch of our national territory.

“The government will contin­ue to provide our security forces with the modern tools and tech­nology they need to keep us safe. Boosting the morale of our men and women in the armed forces will remain our government’s top priority.

“The officers, men, and wom­en of our Armed Forces and the Nigeria Police Force are the shields and protectors of our nation. Our administration will continue to empower them to defeat insurgency, banditry, and all threats to our sovereignty. Our people should never live in fear— whether on their farmlands, high­ways or cities. By restoring peace, we restore productivity, revive businesses, and rebuild our com­munities,” he highlighted.

This is even as he explained that with the Renewed Hope In­frastructure Development Fund, the administration has accelerat­ed investments in energy, trans­port, and public works.

The president added, “By le­veraging private capital, we hope to complete key projects that drive growth and create jobs. We have already embarked on key legacy projects: Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Sokoto-Badagry Highway, which will have a huge impact on the lives of our people and accelerate economic output.

“Our people are our greatest resource. That is why we are making record investments in education, healthcare, and social services:

“Our administration has so far disbursed N34 billion to over 300,000 students via the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NEL­FUND). In the 2025 budget, we have made provision for N826.90 billion for infrastructure devel­opment in the educational sector. This provision also includes those for the Universal Basic Education (UBEC) and the nine new higher educational institutions.

“We are convinced that Uni­versal Health Coverage initiatives will strengthen primary health­care systems across Nigeria. In this way, we have allocated N402 billion for infrastructure invest­ments in the health sector in the 2025 budget and another N282.65 billion for the Basic Health Care Fund.”

PDPDescribesTinubu’sN47.9trn2025 Budget As Anti-People

Meanwhile, the Peoples Dem­ocratic Party (PDP) has described the N47.9 trillion 2025 budget pre­sented by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly on Wednesday as anti-people, which if implemented as presented will plunge the nation deeper into the abyss of insecurity, poverty and hopelessness.

The party asserted that the budget as presented further confirms the insensitivity of the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration towards the plight of Nigerians as it made no meaningful provisions and investments for critical pro­ductive sectors of agriculture and food production, electricity, petro­leum and gas, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, which are the real drivers of the national econ­omy.

The PDP, in a statement by its spokesman, Hon. Debo Ologun­agba, said that the budget address sounded more like a campaign rhetoric laced with unsubstan­tiated economic statistics, false promises and conjured perfor­mance claims without clear-cut operable steps and mechanisms to address insecurity, resuscitate the economy, revamp ailing in­dustries, shore up food produc­tion, increase the value of the naira, reduce overall cost of liv­ing, create jobs for our youths and guarantee better living standard for citizens.

“President Tinubu dashed the hope of millions of suffering Ni­gerians, who expected him to use the 2025 budget to make strategic provisions that will lead to the reduction in the cost of fuel, food items, electricity tariff and other essential goods and services that have direct bearing on the wellbe­ing of the people.

“The PDP is dismayed that in­stead, the budget speech was an assault on the sensibility of Nige­rians when Mr. President claimed that the 2024 budget recorded a bo­gus 85% performance without a breakdown of the component between recurrent and capital expenditure.

“Further distressing is Presi­dent Tinubu’s claim that the econ­omy improved under his watch even in the face of acute poverty, excruciating hardship, comatose infrastructure, collapsed produc­tive sectors, deteriorating value of the naira, alarming 34.6% in­flation and 40% unemployment rates in the last 18 months as val­idated by official figures.

“Equally ludicrous is Mr. President’s voodoo economy claim that the 2025 budget will reduce the current inflation rate from 34.6% to 15% and improve the value of the naira from ap­proximately N1,700 to the dollar to N1,500 without any indices for tangible investment in the pro­ductive sector and in the face of a staggering N134.3 trillion ($91.3 billion) debt accumulated under the APC watch.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT