2025 National Budget Passes Second Reading at Senate, House of Representatives

•Senators demand improved implementation

Adedayo Akinwale and Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate and House of Representatives, yesterday, passed for second reading the N49.7 trillion 2025 budget barely 24 hours after President Bola Tinubu laid the estimates before the joint session of the National Assembly.

In the upper chamber, senators, in a two-hour session chaired by President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and his deputy, Barau Jibrin, debated the money bill.

No fewer than 43 senators contributed to the debate on the general principles of the estimates. None of them disagreed with Tinubu, whom they commended for the budget’s parameters and sectoral allocations.

Most of the senators commended the Tinubu administration on the N4.9 trillion the president allocated to defence and security. They said this was a sign that Tinubu identified insecurity to be a topmost challenge in the country.

Jibrin told the session, “Peace is sine qua non for a sound economy, for a sound and up-and-doing society. And we all know the problems we are facing in terms of insecurity.

“Now, the government has taken steps to deal with it frontally. This is why defence and security got the highest allocation of N4.91 trillion. It shows the readiness of the government to deal with the problem of insecurity once and for all.”

The deputy senate president added, “What do you need after tackling insecurity? For a country that creates that environment of peace, what goes next is, of course, creating a developing environment for the economy to thrive and for business – the private sector to thrive.”

He also cited the allocation of N3.5 trillion to human capital development as a bold move to stimulate productive activities.

Senator Abba Moro, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker, called for increased funding of education to meet the requirement of 26 per cent of annual budgets set by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Moro said, “Nigeria hasn’t been able to meet the UNESCO recommendation, hence, we need to review upward the allocation to education.

“Our inflation rate of 34 per cent is also on the high side, despite the government’s effort to bring it down.”

He equally held the view that the exchange rate set at N1,500/USD was not sustainable, paired against the current market rate of N1,700, and advised the government to work harder on shoring up the strength of the local currency.

Senator Mohammed Monguno observed that tackling insecurity with N4.9 trillion was commendable, especially when improved security would allow people to “engage in meaningful economic activity, including agriculture”.

Monguno expressed the same hope on the N4.6 trillion earmarked for infrastructure, which he said would have a multiplier effect on the economy by generating employment.

Like other speakers, Monguno, an All Progressives Congress (APC) senator from Borno State, called for better budget performance in 2025.

However, Senator Victor Umeh, while applauding key provisions in the budget, complained bitterly about the omission of the Eastern Rail Line, which runs from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri.

Umeh said, “Mr President offered free train rides to Nigerians this Christmas. But, how will the Nigerians on the eastern line benefit when there is no service there?”

A similar concern was raised by Senator Seriake Dickson, who pointed out that no provision was made for the South South Development Commission in the budget, though he acknowledged that Tinubu had yet to sign the bill creating the commission into law.

The N49.7 trillion budget has a revenue projection of N34.820 trillion, expenditure of N47.960 trillion, and deficit of N13 trillion.

Its framework projects a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 4.6 per cent and crude oil price of $75 per barrel, as well as an exchange rate of N400 to $1, ultimately, and oil production of 2.06 million barrels per day.

The senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Adetokunbo Abiru, commended the federal government for surpassing its projected revenue for 2024.

Abiru said projections in the 2025 budget were achievable, including the oil prices production.

He added, “The ability to stabilise the naira is also not in doubt. With the plans of the government, it will help tackle the inflation rate.”

Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) urged his colleagues to prioritise the interest of Nigerians when passing the budget.

Ningi stated, “I received yesterday’s budget with very cautious optimism. The talking point now is not talking about what the government brought but what we can do as the parliament.

“The president has done his part but the ball is in our court. How do our people feel, what is their economic situation? What about hunger, these are things that we should ask as a parliament. It is important that the president pays a lot of attention to insecurity.”

Osun East senator, Francis Fadahunsi, said the proposed amount for defence in the budget was not enough to fight insecurity, even as he criticised the exchange rate and said many of the projections of the budget were not achievable.

Senator Orji Kalu said the government needed to pay more attention to manufacturers and support the Bank of Industry for productivity.

Adamawa Central senator, Aminu Abbas, said with the proposed amount for defence in the budget, the Nigerian military would get adequate funds to acquire security equipment.

Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, led the debate on the general principles of the 2025 appropriation bill.

In his lead argument, Bamidele said the budget proposal demonstrated Tinubu’s commitment to stabilising the economy, improving lives, and repositioning the country for greater performance.

The senate approved the budget for second reading and referred it to the Committee on Appropriations, and directed the committee to report back within four weeks.

The National Assembly adjourned plenary to January 14.

House of Representatives

In the House of Representatives, leading the debate, Leader of the House, Hon. Julius Ihonvbere, commended the determination of the government to reduce inflation to 15 per cent in 2025.

Ihonvbere added that the target was realisable if all Nigerians contributed their quota, saying the president has demonstrated serious courage and leadership in moving the nation forward.

He said Tinubu admitted during the budget presentation that Nigerians were going through rough times, and stressed that for once, Nigerians were seeing a government that was ready to refocus the economy.

In his submission, Minority Leader of the House, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, said the budget was overtly overambitious, in spite of the president’s optimism.

Chinda said if well-implemented, the budget portended something good for Nigerians.

He stated that Nigerians must not lose sight of the fact that the budget was merely a projection, adding that while considering whether the projections are realisable, the indices on the ground must be considered.

Former Deputy Speaker, Hon. Ahmed Wase, called for proper implementation and monitoring of the security budget. Wase said doing so could put an end to the security challenges in the country.

He called for speedy passage of the budget to ensure that what was allocated to the various constituencies were implemented.

Wase added, “We should follow up the utilisation of the security budget to ensure value for money.”