The National Assembly may be considering shifting Tuesday’s scheduled budget presentation by President Bola Tinubu to Wednesday, December 18, 2024.
According to a report by Channels Television, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Mohammed Idris, gave the hint on Monday while briefing State House Correspondents on the outcomes of the last Federal Executive Council Meeting, FEC, in 2024.
During the briefing, Idris said only the National Assembly has the power to decide when the president can present the budget to the lawmakers.
According to the Minister, there was an ongoing engagement with the National Assembly, saying it was likely that the date for the presentation of the 2025 Appropriation Bill may be Wednesday.
The Presidency had earlier announced that President Tinubu would as present the document to National Assembly on Tuesday.
It will be Tinubu’s second full budget presentation since he assumed office as President on May 29, 2023.
The Senate had, on December 3, 2024, approved the 2025-2027 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) with a total spending of ₦47.9 trillion.
The expenditure framework was approved with a new borrowing plan of ₦9.22 trillion, constituting domestic and foreign borrowings.
The MTEF is a projection of the federal government’s three-year spending plan and the nation’s budget is predicated on the framework.
The framework was approved with an exchange rate of ₦1,400 to a dollar and adopted the oil prices of $75, $76.2, and $75.3 per barrel for 2025, 2026, and 2027 respectively.
