THE Federal Government has proposed N1.9 trillion for 11 security agencies and the Ministries of Defence and Interior headquarters in 2024.
The amount represents 6.93 per cent of the proposed budget of N27.5 trillion the government plans to spend within the year.
It covers personnel costs, overheads and capital expenditures for the institutions.
The agencies include the National Security Adviser (NSA), Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Army, Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Federal Ministry of Police Affairs, and National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
Others are the State Security Service (SSS), Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigerian Immigration Service, Nigeria Air Force, and the Ministry of Interior and Defence headquarters.
The amount proposed in the 2024 budget is 17.23 per cent higher than the N1.63 trillion approved for the 13 organisations in the 2023 budget.
The ICIR reports that out of the 11 security agencies and two ministries’ headquarters surveyed, the 2024 budget proposal for six security agencies is less than what they received in 2023.
For instance, the NSA received N73.93 billion in 2023, but N65 billion was allocated to the office in the proposed 2024 budget.
Also, the EFCC got N49.9 billion in 2023, but the government allocated N43.11 billion to it in the 2024 budget.
Similarly, the DIA and DSS, which got N41.92 billion and N74.78 billion, respectively, in 2023, were allocated N41.50 billion and N73.75 billion in the 2024 proposed budget.
Insecurity has been a perennial challenge in Nigeria, ranging from attacks by bandits and secessionist groups to attacks by insurgent groups like Boko Haram/Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) and clashes between herders and villagers, among others.
Data collated by The ICIR show that between January and October 2023, 7,046 people were killed in violent attacks across Nigeria.
The ICIR gathered the data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a data bureau that collects real-time data on the locations, dates, actors, fatalities, and types of all reported political violence and protest events worldwide.
When broken down, this means that an average of 24 persons were killed daily within the month under review.
According to the data, the states with the highest killings within the ten months are Zamfara (672 deaths), Niger (544 deaths), Benue (454 deaths) and Plateau (362 deaths).
The states with the lowest reported cases of death are Ekiti, Gombe, and Jigawa, with five, three, and two deaths, respectively.
The ICIR reported that the presidency planned to spend about N11.1 billion on computer software acquisition in 2024, as shown in the budget proposal.
The ICIR reports that the budget proposal for this item is a sharp rise from the N926.1 million approved by the National Assembly for the same purpose for the presidency in the 2023 budget.
However, the quantity of the item to be procured was not stated in either year.
Some MDAs under the presidency include the State House, Bureau of Public Procurement, ICPC, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and Office of the Accountant-General.
The ICIR reports that the Federal Executive Council (FEC), on Monday, November 27, approved N27.5 trillion as the Federal Government’s aggregate expenditure for 2024.
At the presentation, Tinubu listed the budget’s objectives to include:
- Reducing poverty,
- Improving human capital development,
- Macroeconomic stability,
- Job-rich economic growth, and
- Increased access to social security.
The ICIR reported on Wednesday, December 6, that Tinubu’s Chief of Staff (CoS), Femi Gbajabiamila, refuted the claim that he would spend N10 billion from the proposed budget on his official residence.
The response followed reports by some media platforms on the amount budgeted for refurbishing the CoS’ residence and purchasing software computers in his office, amounting to N21 billion.
A review of the proposed budget by The ICIR showed that the CoS office would spend N21 billion, with the renovation of fixed assets and computer software acquisition amounting to over N10 billion each.
The breakdown of the N10 billion earmarked for the renovation of the fixed assets showed that N5 billion was budgeted to repair the Dodan Barracks presidential lodge and the vice presidential quarters.
The purchase of fixed assets, such as computers, printers, vehicles, refreshments, and office stationery, among other expenditures, takes up the remaining amount.
The ICIR reports that capital projects across Nigeria would suffer more as the Federal Government projected 45 per cent of its N18.3 trillion expected revenue in 2024 to service debts.
The 2024 budget proposes non-debt recurrent expenditure of N9.92 trillion naira, while debt service is projected to be N8.25 trillion naira and capital expenditure is N8.7 trillion.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance
Kehinde Ogunyale tells stories by using data to hold power into account. You can send him a mail at jameskennyogunyale@gmail or Twitter: Prof_KennyJames | LinkedIn: Kehinde Ogunyale