Lawmakers Raise Worry About Possible Late Presentation of 2025 Budget

By Adedapo Adesanya

The House of Representatives has drawn attention to the violation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act by President Bola Tinubu as he has yet to present the 2025 budget with two months left in the year.

In a motion raised by a member of the House, Mr Clement Jimbo, the lawmakers questioned the available time before the end of the year to thoroughly consider and pass the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) and 2025 Budget Estimates.

The House noted that the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 provided for the prudent management of the nation’s resources and that Section 11(1)(b) stipulated that the Federal Government must, not later than four months before the commencement of the next financial year, cause to be prepared and laid before the National Assembly, an MTEF for the next three financial years.

The matter was then referred to the Committee on National Planning.

Business Post reports that in November 2023, President Tinubu in a Joint Session of the Senate and House of Representatives presented the initial sum of N27.5 trillion as the proposed 2024 Budget.

The President, in his address to the National Assembly, described the 2024 Budget as the “Budget of Renewed Hope” which is designed to achieve job-rich economic growth, macro-economic stability, a better investment environment, enhanced human capital development, as well as poverty reduction and greater access to social security.

He informed lawmakers that the primary objective of his administration is to sustain a robust foundation for economic development, leverage public-private partnerships, and foster the development of renewable energy sources.

Speaking on the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), and its fiscal parameters, President Tinubu explained that his administration adopted an oil price benchmark of $77.96 per barrel, daily oil production estimate of 1.78 million barrels per day and an exchange rate of N750 to $1 for 2024.