From David Onuoja, Abuja
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has on Friday signed the 2025 Appropriation Bill of ₦54.99 trillion (about $36.6billion) into law.
The signing of the bill took place at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, with the leadership of the National Assembly and other senior government officials present.
Both chambers of the National Assembly (NASS), had on Thursday, February 13, 2025, passed the budget for the fiscal year after increasing the figure from the initial ₦49.7 trillion to ₦54.99 trillion as submitted by the President.
This make the 2025 Appropriation Act represents a 99.96 percent increase from the 2024 budget of ₦27.5 trillion.
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The breakdown of 2025 budget indicates thus: Total Expenditure: ₦54.99 trillion; Statutory Transfers: ₦3.65 trillion; Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure: ₦13.64 trillion; Capital Expenditure: ₦23.96 trillion; and Debt Servicing: ₦14.32 trillion.
Details of the budget further indicate that this increase reflects additional anticipated revenues from agencies that include the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
Government insiders said the budget seeks to address key areas of security, infrastructure, education, and health, with an allocation of $200m to mitigate the impact of recent United States (U.S) health aid reductions.
Furthermore, the insiders explained that the 2025 budget is based on ambitious economic assumptions, including a crude oil production target of 2.06 million barrels per day at a benchmark price of $75 per barrel.
Additionally, the Federal Government’s projection of an exchange rate of ₦1,500 to the U.S. dollar is aimed at reducing inflation from 34.8 per cent to 15 per cent within the year.
This is as it was gathered that an important component of the fiscal strategy involves tax reforms, which President Tinubu has maintained, are designed to enhance revenue generation and ensure the nation’s economic stability.
Another element of the proposed tax overhaul is increasing the Value Added Tax (VAT), from the current 7.5 percent to 12.5 percent by 2026 while exempting essential goods such as food and medicine as part of measures to alleviate the burden on households.
The reform proposal also focuses on reallocating VAT revenues to favour states that generate more, a move that has sparked debate regarding regional economic disparities nationwide.
