President Bola Tinubu has signed the ₦54.99 trillion ($36.6 billion) 2025 Appropriation Bill into law. The signing ceremony took place on Friday at the State House, Abuja, in the presence of National Assembly leaders and top government officials.
The National Assembly had passed the budget on February 13, 2025, after approving an increase from the initially proposed ₦54.2 trillion. This adjustment followed Tinubu’s earlier request for a revision from the original ₦49.7 trillion estimate.
The increased budget accounts for additional projected revenues from agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Customs Service. Key allocations focus on security, infrastructure, education, and health, with $200 million set aside to mitigate the effects of recent cuts in U.S. health aid.
The 2025 budget is based on economic projections, including:
- Crude Oil Production: 2.06 million barrels per day
- Oil Benchmark Price: $75 per barrel
- Exchange Rate Projection: ₦1,500 to $1
- Inflation Reduction Target: 34.8% to 15%
A crucial aspect of the fiscal plan includes tax reforms aimed at boosting revenue and economic stability. These reforms propose increasing the value-added tax (VAT) to 12.5% by 2026 while exempting essential goods like food and medicine. Additionally, the federal government intends to restructure VAT revenue allocation to benefit states with higher revenue generation, a move that has stirred debates on regional economic disparities.
The 2025 Appropriation Act represents a 99.96% increase from the 2024 budget of ₦27.5 trillion.
More details to follow…