2025 Budget Passes Second Reading in National Assembly Amid Lawmaker Debate

The 2025 appropriation bill has successfully passed its second reading in the National Assembly following an extensive debate by legislators on Thursday.

The proposed N49.7 trillion budget for 2025, presented by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, underwent detailed deliberation in both the Senate and House of Representatives during plenary sessions. Lawmakers highlighted its general principles while calling for thorough scrutiny of its breakdown during upcoming engagements with ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).

Julius Ihonvbere, majority leader of the green chamber, opened the debate, asserting that the budget would strengthen the economy and consolidate President Tinubu’s achievements. Conversely, Kingsley Chinda, minority leader, criticised Tinubu’s projection to reduce inflation from 34.6 percent to 15 percent, describing it as “ambitious” and “unrealistic.”

Chinda also argued that the N4.91 trillion allocation to defence and security is insufficient, calling for greater focus on human capital development and environmental sustainability. “The budget might appear very beautiful, but there is much more for us to do as a nation,” he said.

Oluwole Oke of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) echoed these concerns, labelling the budget as “grossly inadequate” to fund development projects.

Abdussamad Dasuki from Sokoto shared this view, noting that when converted to dollars, the budget would fall short of addressing Nigeria’s challenges. “I urge the relevant committees, particularly the committee on finance, to work on this,” Dasuki added.

Ismaila Dabo from Bauchi urged for increased funding for agriculture to address rising food inflation, stressing, “Nigerians are finding it difficult to cope. I urge the house to ensure enough allocation is reserved for agriculture.”

Lawmakers from the north-east and south-east also demanded more funding for their regional development commissions.

Despite the mixed reactions, lawmakers unanimously supported the bill during a voice vote overseen by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu. The bill was referred to the committees on appropriation for further legislative consideration, with a commitment to passing it before January 30.

In November, the National Assembly approved the federal government’s 2025-2027 medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and fiscal strategy paper (FSP). This included oil benchmark prices of $75, $76.2, and $75.3 per barrel, alongside daily crude oil production targets of 2.06 million, 2.10 million, and 2.35 million barrels for the respective fiscal years.

The legislature also endorsed GDP growth rate projections of 4.6 percent, 4.4 percent, and 5.5 percent for the three years, maintaining an exchange rate of N1,400/$, with a review planned for early 2025.

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