House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas announced on Tuesday that the 2024 budget is scheduled for passage on Saturday, December 30, following the resumption of the House of Representatives’ plenary session.
The disclosure came after a brief recess for committees to scrutinize the budget estimates submitted by President Bola Tinubu. While the exact figure agreed upon was not revealed, further harmonization with the Senate is pending.
President Tinubu presented a budget of N27.5 trillion to a joint session of the National Assembly on November 29 in Abuja. The proposed budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year is set at N9.18 trillion, representing 3.88% of Nigeria’s gross domestic product. Tinubu highlighted that this deficit is lower than the N13.78 trillion recorded in 2023, representing 6.11% of GDP.
The deficit is intended to be financed by new borrowings totaling N7.83 trillion, N298.49 billion from privatization proceeds, and N1.05 trillion from drawdown on multilateral and bilateral loans secured for specific development projects. The Senate had passed the N27.5 trillion budget for a second reading on December 1, 2023.
