The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has greenlit a N27.50 trillion appropriation bill for the 2024 budget, reflecting a substantial increase of N1.5 trillion from the initially proposed amount.
Initially set at N26.2 trillion, the government revisited the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) endorsed by the National Assembly. Sen. Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, made this announcement following the FEC meeting headed by President Bola Tinubu in Abuja.
Bagudu emphasized that the new proposal’s validity lay in its dependency on final processes, subject to alterations due to multiple factors, including emerging priorities and presentations from MDAs.
The MTEF approved by the National Assembly had pegged the exchange rate at N700 per dollar and an oil price benchmark of $73.96. However, the FEC revised this to an exchange rate of N750 per dollar and an oil price benchmark of N77.96 to further bolster funding for the administration’s eight priority areas.
Further details about the budget will be presented by the president during the National Assembly session, with the presentation date to be determined by the assembly.
The forecasted revenue for 2024 is anticipated to be N18.32 trillion higher than that of the 2023 budget and supplementary budget provisions, as outlined by the Minister of Budget and National Planning.
Chief Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, highlighted that the Federal Government has secured one billion dollars in funds from the African Development Bank. This financial support aims to facilitate the effective execution of government reform policies, ensuring transparency and accountability within various tax reforms.
Edun clarified that these funds are intended for areas such as enhancing power infrastructure and optimizing the utilization of tax revenues, specifically for operational purposes rather than project funding.