President Tinubu Signs 2024 N28.78tn budget into Law
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has signed the N28.78 trillion 2024 budget into law at the Presidential Villa, Abuja in line with his avowed commitment to maintaining a timeous, predictable, and efficient budget cycle.
Tinubu, who returned to the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja on Monday after a week in Lagos for the Christmas break, expeditiously signed the inaugural budget of his administration on the first day of the year in a brief ceremony, witnessed by top government officials.
Speaking at the signing of the bill, the President assured Nigerians that the implementation of the budget would be efficiently pursued and vigorously monitored, adding: “All the institutional mechanisms shall be held to account in ensuring diligent implementation”.
“All MDA’s have been directed to take responsibility and provide monthly Budget Performance Reports to the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, which in turn shall ensure the veracity of such. The Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy shall hold regular reviews with the Economic Management Team and, in addition, I shall Chair periodic Economic Coordination Council meetings,” he said.
The top priorities of the 2024 budget of N28.7 trillion are defence and internal security, job creation, macro-economic stability, improved investment environment, human capital development, poverty reduction, and social security.
The President emphasized that his commitment to enhance investment promotion while creating a rules-based society that favours no individual over the law begins with important reforms in the Nigerian judiciary, the funding for which is captured in the 2024 Appropriation Act.
“Funding the judiciary is a major element in our effort to support a just, rules-based society. Statutory transfer to the Judiciary has been increased from 165 billion naira to 342 billion naira,” the President said.
Some of the key estimates are capital expenditure, N10 trillion; recurrent expenditure, N8.8 trillion; debt service, N8.2 trillion, and statutory transfers, N1.7 trillion.
Among those with the President while he signed the budget were the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.
Others include the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Abubakar; and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
Also present in the president’s office were his Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila; National Chairman of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje; Chairman of the Senate Appropriation Committee, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, among others.
The 2024 appropriation bill increased its size from the initial N27.5 trillion proposed by President Bola Tinubu to N28.7 trillion. The budget size was increased by N1.2 trillion.
