Even though the required templates must still be finalized ten days into November, there are hints that President Bola Tinubu would introduce the 2025 budget before a joint session of the National Assembly during the first week of December 2024.
The Senate has declared through its Finance Committee that President Tinubu and the executive branch alone are in charge of determining when the budget will be presented.
Budget estimates for the next fiscal year were typically presented in the first week of October during the tenure of the 9th National Assembly and under former President Muhammadu Buhari. This was done after the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) were submitted for careful consideration.
Under Buhari, the Finance Committees in both houses of the National Assembly were able to have the essential conversations with pertinent revenue-generating organizations because these documents were usually received in September.
Journalists questioned Senator Mohammed Sani Musa (APC Niger East), the chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, about the date of the 2025 budget presentation, expressing concern over the delay in getting these important documents from the administration.
“The executive should be able to answer that question, as I know they are doing their work,” Senator Musa said, emphasizing that the administration has the last say in the matter. He went on to say that he and the other committee members had discussed the 2024 budget’s performance with the CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Minister of Finance. “They’re working on the budget for 2025 and will send it to us when it’s finished. He claimed that the executive, not the National Assembly, makes the decision.
Notably, there was a delay because President Tinubu sent the 2024 budget estimates to the National Assembly on November 29, 2023. It was signed into law on January 1, 2024, after being approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives on December 30, 2023.
The expected 2025-2027 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which would specify important parameters for the 2025 budget, including benchmarks for oil prices, predicted daily oil output, currency rates, and inflation rates, has not yet been made public by the administration.
Following their recent talks, Senator Musa and Mr. Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, offered confidence that the government’s economic reforms were making headway. “I believe in the assurance given by the Finance Minister that our economy is improving due to the reforms,” said Senator Musa, who expressed confidence. Positive signs are already appearing, and our debt-to-GDP ratio is declining. Within the next 16 to 18 months, Nigerians would experience noticeable advantages.