President Bola Tinubu signed the 2024 Appropriation Bill into law on the first day of 2024 to keep his commitment to maintaining a timeous, predictable, and efficient budget cycle.
The President, who returned to Abuja from Lagos after a short trip, approved the bill in his office at the Presidential Villa State House.
The President talked about signing the bill as he assured Nigerians that the budget implementation would be efficiently pursued and vigorously monitored.
In his statement, he said:
- Today (yesterday), the first holiday on the calendar. Thank you very much I must say. When I presented the budget on the November 29, 2023, I presented N27.5trn and left room and I called for expeditious treatment of the budget, the review, the passing, the debate and all that.
- Today we have a budget of N28.7trn with an increase of N1.2trn over the proposal that I submitted. I thank the National Assembly for this prompt review adjustment and auditing. This is an evidence and a great testament to the excellent relationship between the executive and the legislature. We should keep it up.
- In my address then, I remarked that the budget is a budget of renewed hope. It is anchored on reducing the deficit and increasing capital expenditure, particularly in our priority areas. The approved 2024 budget that we just approved achieves both objectives.
- It contains a very good increase in the capital side, a reduction in recurrent expenditure and it brought down the deficit from 6.11% to 3.88%. That, to me, is an achievement.
- Then we can debate in the area of economic thinking. Whether capital expenditure and reduction in recurrent means what. It is subject of interpretation. It means a lot. It means where the hope is hanged in development and particularly human capital development.
- When you pay attention to education, health and road infrastructure, you are resuscitating the economy and making sure the ordinary people are carried along.
- Let me take one of it. While we take power and steel and other projects, one of the priority areas we just passed is the N100 billion provision for the feeding of school children. That is a stimulant that will encourage our school attendance and others.
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