The 2025 budget, which was approved last week and increased recurring spending while decreasing capital expenditures, was examined by the National Assembly on Tuesday.
The MPs claimed that some mistakes in the approved budget made the review essential.
While recurring expenditures increased by the same amount, capital expenditures were cut by around N500 billion, even though the budget size remained at N54.99 trillion.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives made revisions to the previously passed figures for a few ministries, departments, and agencies during Tuesday’s plenary sessions. Some of the figures were increased, while others were reviewed downward.
Francis Waive (APC, Delta), the chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, stated that the move was required because “the Joint Appropriation Committee noticed errors in the figures earlier passed.” Waive made the motion to review the authorised items.
“The capital budget of N23.44 trillion and the recurring (non-debt) expenditure of N13.56 trillion were impacted, while the final figure of N54.99 trillion and the statutory transfer of N3.64 trillion and N14.32 trillion stayed the same,” he stated.
The budget estimates for the National Pension Commission, Universities Pensions, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (civilian pensions), the Ministries of Defence and Police Affairs, the Pension Transition Arrangement Directorate, and a few other organisations were lowered in the document.
According to Waive, the budget proposal for the 2025 fiscal year was increased for the following agencies: the Presidency, the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Office to the Secretary to Government of the Federation, the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Food Security, Works, Labour and Employment, Transportation, Innovation, Science and Technology, Education, Environment, Health, and Social Welfare, among others.
Noting that the rescission and passage will not impact the N54.99tn budget size, the Delta member stated that it was the responsibility of the House to make the modifications found in the document during the Joint Committee’s compilation process.
