The Federal Government on Wednesday highlighted the sectoral allocations in the 2024 budget after its presentation by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, said defence and security will get N3.25 trillion, constituting 12 per cent of the budget.
The allocation encompasses funding for the military, police, intelligence, and para-military entities, covering recurrent and capital expenditures.
Education got N2.18 trillion, equivalent to 7.9 per cent of the budget.
Of the sum, N251.47 billion will go to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), N700.0 billion for infrastructure projects in tertiary institutions under the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND); N1.23 trillion is for the Federal Ministry of Education and its agencies.
The government allocated N1.33 trillion to healthcare, constituting five per cent of the budget.
This allocation includes N125.74 billion for the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF), N137.21 billion for Gavi/immunisation funds, including counterpart funding for donor-supported programmes, and N1.07 trillion for the Federal Ministry of Health and its agencies
For infrastructure development, N1.32 trillion was allocated, equivalent to five per cent of the budget.
This encompasses provisions for Works and Housing, Power, Transport, Water Resources, and Aviation ministries.
An allocation of N534 billion, accounting for two per cent of the budget, has been earmarked for Social Investments and Poverty Reduction programmes.
Bagudu said the estimated deficit is N9.18 trillion, which amounts to around 50 per cent of the total revenues and approximately 3.88 per cent of the estimated GDP.
The minister explained: “The significant expected increase in the fiscal deficit for 2024 is partly due to the suggested salary review for federal employees, increased pension responsibilities, and higher debt servicing expenses.
“At 3.88 per cent, the projected level of deficit is higher than the three per cent threshold stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), 2007, but significantly lower than the 2023 level of 6.11 per cent.
“The FRA, however, allows the government to exceed the three per cent threshold if justified by threats to national security.”
Bagudu said the government is reviewing current tax and fiscal policies to increase the revenue-to-GDP ratio from less than 10 per cent to 18 per cent.
This will entail enhancing tax administration and collection efficiency and blocking financial leakages.
Bagudu stressed that early passage of the 2024 budget for implementation from January 1 is considered crucial to achieving the government’s macro-fiscal and sectoral objectives.
“Timely approval of the budget will enable the government to effectively implement its economic policies and foster sustainable economic growth,” he said.
On the 2023 budget performance, Bagudu noted that expenditure, including the supplementary budget, was N24.82 trillion, of which N5.79 trillion went towards debt servicing, and N3.78 trillion for personnel costs, which includes pensions.
Exactly N1.47 trillion, equivalent to 25 per cent of the pro-rata budget, has been disbursed to ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) for their capital expenditure as of September.
The performance shortfall is attributed in part to the introduction of the “bottom-up cash plan” arrangement implemented in 2023.
