Nigeria 2024 budget: A Business as Usual

The Nigerian government recently presented the 2024 budget proposal titled the Renewed Hope budget to the National Assembly. The Budget shows a proposed expenditure of NGN27.5 trillion and an estimated revenue of NGN18.32 trillion for the 2024 fiscal year. According to President Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian national defense and internal security, local job creation, macro-economic stability, investment environment optimization, human capital development, poverty reduction, and social security are essential priorities of the 2024 Budget of Renewed Hope, and this is geared towards reviving the economy. The Nigerian aggregate revenue is projected at NGN18.32 trillion which comes mainly from the oil and non-oil sectors and the proposed expenditure is NGN 27.5 trillion, it is important to ask how the Federal government intends to finance the shortfall.

A critical examination left us wondering if the budget is truly a source of hope for Nigerians or an unrealistic business for the Federal government. A review of the budget shows that the highest allocation goes to the defense and security sector, which accounts for 11.8 percent of the budget, and the health and education sector was allocated 5.03 and 6.39 percent respectively.

Drawing from the Past

The Former Nigerian President, Mohammad Buhari also had a similar budget while in office with the education sector being allotted 6 to 9 percent throughout his two terms and the health sector being below the 15 percent benchmark.  Although from the 2015 budget, the health sector witnessed a substantial increase in its budget, however, it has failed to reach the 15 percent benchmark. Also, with the similarity between the previous educational sector budget and its proposed 2024 budget, it is very unlikely to witness any change in the education sector. Although, there is room for improvement if the President and the executive are willing to work together. The education and health sector are currently faced with numerous challenges some of which can be solved by adequate and improved funding.