The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the proposed 2025 budget of N47.96tn on Monday, December 16, paving the way for its presentation to the National Assembly on Wednesday.
President Bola Tinubu will address a joint session of lawmakers to unveil the budget, which reflects the government’s economic priorities for the coming year.
The budget presentation, initially scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed to accommodate last-minute adjustments requested by the executive branch. Minister of State for Agriculture, Sabi Abdullahi, confirmed the delay, stating, “The budget presentation has been postponed from Tuesday to Wednesday. The executive just needs to make one or two adjustments to the budget.”
The Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) 2025-2027, which outlines the fiscal assumptions underlying the budget, was approved by the Senate on November 22.
Key projections include an oil price benchmark of $75 per barrel, crude oil production at 2.06 million barrels per day, an exchange rate of N1,400 per dollar, and GDP growth of 4.6%. The budget projects a revenue target of N34.82tn and a deficit of N13.13tn, equivalent to 3.89% of GDP.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, highlighted the focus on boosting revenue through robust non-oil income and ensuring capital expenditure drives economic growth.
“Today, the Federal Executive Council approved the budget proposals 2025 with amendments which Mr President directed following a presentation to the Federal Executive Council led by the Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu.
“The 2025 framework is based on an oil price benchmark of $75 per barrel. Oil production of 2.06 million barrels per day; exchange rate of N1,400 (to the dollar). All these are already included in the medium-term expenditure framework we have presented here, which has also been approved by the National Assembly.
“So, the total projected revenue for 2025 stands at N34.82tn, out of which the expenditure is projected at N47.96tn, an increase of 36.8 per cent from the 2024 estimate. The deficit for 2025 is projected at N13.13tn, representing 3.89 per cent of GDP.”
He explained that comments were taken from council members and the President directed “some consequential adjustments while approving the figures.”
The Tinubu administration aims to maintain Nigeria’s January-December budget cycle, with hopes for swift legislative approval. However, Bagudu reassured Nigerians that constitutional provisions allow government operations to continue if the budget is not signed by year-end.
