Members of Nigeria's House of Representatives have expressed their approval of the 2025 Appropriation Bill, which totals N47.9 trillion and was presented by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly.
The budget, described as a significant enhancement over the previous year, allocates substantial funds to critical sectors: N4.90 trillion for Defense, N4.06 trillion for infrastructure, N2.48 trillion for health, and N3.52 trillion for education.
In their reactions following the budget presentation, lawmakers praised the ambitious nature of the proposal.
Rep. Benson Babajimi, Chairman of the House Committee on Defence, remarked, "It's very ambitious, a huge improvement from last year’s budget. It shows the president is bold and a reformist."
He highlighted key infrastructure projects such as the Sokoto-Badagry expressway and the Lagos-Calabar route as transformative initiatives.
Despite the overall satisfaction, some concerns were raised regarding the budget's assumptions. Rep. Abubakar Fulata noted, "The over N15 trillion set aside for debt servicing out of the entire sum was not very impressive."
He also pointed out the discrepancy between the budget's oil price assumption of $15 per barrel and the current market prices ranging between $73 and $74 per barrel, which could pose challenges to fiscal stability.
Additionally, Rep. Idem Unyime expressed skepticism about achieving the January to December budget cycle due to the timing of the Christmas holidays.
He stated that while the budget was presented on time, the National Assembly would only be able to consider it after the holidays, aiming for passage by the end of January 2025.
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