HURIWA: 2024 Budget Falls Short on Social Welfare, Fails Vulnerable Majority

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has expressed profound disappointment over the recently proposed 2024 budget presented by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, citing significant shortcomings in addressing the critical needs of the poor, unemployed, and youth demographic.

HURIWA observed that despite claims of being pro-poor, a comprehensive analysis it conducted revealed that the budget fell short on key social welfare aspects, leaving the vulnerable majority in a precarious position.

In a press statement, National Coordinator of the association, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, described as meager, the 12.5% allocated to the social sector, alleging that the Nigerian people’s welfare was not being prioritised by the government.

“This allocation is notably below international standards, including commitments made in the Abuja Declaration of 2010, where African nations pledged to allocate at least 15% of their budgets to the health sector alone.

“Comparatively, progressive nations such as the United Kingdom consider social welfare a cornerstone of their budgetary framework, allocating significant portions to ensure the well-being of citizens, including provisions for the elderly, the sick, and the unemployed,” he claimed.

While emphasising the need for Nigeria to learn from these examples and strive to achieve similar standards in its budgetary allocations, HURIWA faulted the allocation of less than 25 per cent to the social sector after the government removed subsidies on gasoline and the floating of the naira, which have seen the country’s misery index move up sporadically.

The association stated that it was particularly concerned about the contradiction between President Tinubu’s manifesto promise of a 10% allocation to the health sector and a mere 4.9% allocation, adding that the discrepancy raised questions about the government’s commitment to the health and well-being of the Nigerian people.

He said, “The fact that debt servicing and refinancing costs are taking 30 per cent of the entire budget, and debt servicing is practically 94.8 per cent of capital expenditure while education and health, the two most critical sectors and determinants of the GDP growth rate and per capita income of the people, cumulatively got 12.5 per cent allocation, was an indication that the present government was not ready for change.”