PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has increased the proposed 2025 national budget by an additional N4.5 trillion, raising it from ₦49.7 trillion to N54.2 trillion.
The adjustment was contained in separate letters sent to the Senate and the House of Representatives and read during plenary on Wednesday, February 5, by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Tinubu said the budget increase was driven by extra revenue streams from federal agencies.
He noted that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) contributed an additional N1.4 trillion, while the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) added N1.2 trillion.
He stressed that other government-owned agencies contributed N1.8 trillion to the national coffers.
Consequently, Akpabio referred the request to the Senate Committee on Appropriations for urgent consideration.
He further assured that the budget would be finalised and passed before the end of February.
The ICIR on Wednesday, December 18, reported that Tinubu presented Nigeria’s 2025 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly with key highlights, adjusting the exchange rate benchmark to N1,500 per dollar.
Christened ‘Budget of Restoration: Securing Peace, Rebuilding Prosperity,’ Tinubu presented a budget size of N47.9 trillion to the lawmakers.
He said the budget sought to consolidate the key policies his administration had instituted to restructure the nation’s economy and boost human capital development, increase the volume of trade and investments, and bolster oil and gas production, among others.
Criticism over fiscal discipline, debt burden
The budget increase came amid concerns over Nigeria’s rising debt and fiscal sustainability.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had in December 2024, criticised the 2025 budget, arguing that it lacked structural reforms and fiscal discipline.
Atiku, in a statement, described the budget as a continuation of flawed fiscal policies that had deepened the country’s economic vulnerabilities.
He noted that the projected revenue of N35 trillion left a deficit of over N13 trillion, which the government planned to finance through new borrowings.
According to him, the plan to secure more than N13 trillion in loans, including N9 trillion in direct borrowings and N4 trillion in project-specific financing, mirrors past practices under the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration that have significantly increased Nigeria’s public debt burden.
Atiku further criticised the government’s recurrent expenditure, which stands at over N14 trillion (30 per cent of the budget), saying it reflected inefficiencies and wasteful spending.
He also faulted the decision to allocate N15.8 trillion to debt servicing, arguing that it nearly matched the N16 trillion earmarked for capital expenditure.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M