….Prioritizes Security, Infrastructure, Health, Agric In Provisions
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday presented the 2025 Appropriation Bill with an estimated expenditure totalling N49.96 trillion to the joint session of the National Assembly for approval.
In the Appropriation Bill, titled “The Restoration Budget, Securing peace, Building prosperity”, the priorities were on Defence and Security, Infrastructure, Health, and Education with budgetary provisions of N4.06 trillion, N2.48 trillion and N3.5 trillion respectively.
Tinubu told the lawmakers that the benchmarks used in the preparation of the proposed budget were that inflation would decline from the current rate of 34.6% to 15% next year while the Naira exchange rate would improve from approximately N1700/$1 to N1500 and that the nation’s crude oil production assumption was pegged at 2.06 million barrels per day.
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He explained: “The projections are based upon the following observations. Reduce the importation of petroleum products alongside increased exports of finish, petroleum products, and bumper harvest, driven by enhanced security, reducing reliance on food imports, and increasing foreign exchange influence through foreign portfolio investments.
“I have crude oil output an export coupled will substantial reduction and upstream oil and gas production costs”, the President added.
According to him, the numbers for the 2025 budget proposal tell a bold and exciting story of the direction his administration is taking to retool and revamp the socio-economic fabric of the society.
He said: “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.”
Specifically, he told the legislators that in fiscal year 2025, the Federal Government would be targeting N34.82trn in revenue to fund the budget and that the projected expenditure of N47.90trn would include N15.81trn for debt servicing.
The President projected that a total of N13.08trn or 3.89% of GDP, would be used to bridge the budget deficit gap, adding that “this is an ambitious but necessary budget to secure our future.”
While giving the proposed budget’s breakdown, the President said that N4.91 trillion was proposed for Defence and Security; Housing would gulp N4.06 trillion while Health and Education sectors would get N2.48 trillion and 3.58 trillion respectively.
While restating his administration’s commitment to ensuring security of lives and properties in the county, the President maintained that in the fiscal year, infrastructure, human capital development and agriculture would also be prioritized in the budgetary expenditure in view of their crucial roles in national development.
He expatiated: “When we launched the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund, it was with the conviction that infrastructure remains the backbone of every thriving economy. Under this programme, we are accelerating investments in energy, transport, and public works. 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.”
On his administration’s human capital development plans, Tinubu pointed out that the people remained the country’s greatest resource hence the government is making record investments in education, healthcare, and social services:
According to him, the administration has disbursed N34bn to over 300,000 students via the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and that in the 2025 Budget, N826.90bn provision had been made for infrastructure development in the educational sector, including those for the Universal Basic Education (UBEC) and the nine new higher educational institutions.
The President maintained that his administration was convinced that Universal Health Coverage initiatives will strengthen primary healthcare systems across Nigeria, adding that based on this, the government have allocated N402bn for infrastructure investments in the health sector in the 2025 budget and another N282.65bn for the Basic Health Care Fund.
This is even as he promised that the country’s hospitals would be revitalised with medication and better resources, ensuring quality care for all Nigerians in line with the Federal Government’s planned procurement of essential drugs for distribution to public healthcare facilities nationwide, improving healthcare access and reducing medical import dependency.
Speaking on plans to revitalize agriculture, Tinubu explained: “Increasing agricultural production is central to our food security agenda, but insecurity has crippled this vital sector. We are supporting our farmers with funding and inputs to reignite productivity. Food security is non-negotiable. In this regard, we are taking bold steps to ensure that every Nigerian can feed conveniently, and none of our citizens will have to go to bed hungry.”
He assured Nigerians that the 2025 budget proposal was not just another statement on projected government revenue and expenditures but it is one that calls for action as the country continued to face existential threats from corruption and insecurity and suffers from many past poor choices.
The President stressed that these challenges were surmountable when the people work collaboratively to overcome them, adding that Nigerians must rewrite the narrative of this nation together, with every leader, institution, and citizen playing their part.
He said: “The time for lamentation is over. This is a time to act. A time to support and promote greater investment in the private sector. A time for our civil servants to faithfully execute our policies and programmes. It is a time for every Nigerian to look hopefully towards a brighter future because a new day has dawned for us as a nation.
“As your President, I remain committed and resolute to continue to lead the charge.
“This 2025 budget proposal lays the foundation for peace, prosperity, and much needed hope. It is the plan through which a Nigeria where every citizen can dream, work, and thrive in safety can be achieved”, Tinubu added.
He concluded his presentation, saying: “I hereby lay down the 2025 budget before the National Assembly, titled, ‘Restoration budget, securing peace and building prosperity.”
In his remarks after the President’s presentation of the Appropriation Bill 2025, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, described the event as a call to unity and progress and commended Tinubu’s leadership, noting that his administration’s transformative economic policies and achievements are remarkable.
He listed some of the key achievements as including the removal of fuel subsidies, enhanced revenue generation, increased oil production, the launch of the Compressed Natural Gas initiative, increase in government revenue to over N18.32 trillion, and reduction of debt servicing expenditures from 97% to 68%, among others.
