President Bola Tinubu is set to present the 2024 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday. Dr. Ali Barde Umoru, the Secretary of Research and Information at the National Assembly, confirmed this information to journalists at the Senate, discussing the protocol arrangements for the event. Due to space constraints and heightened security concerns, access to the National Assembly Complex will be restricted on the day of the presentation.

Reliable sources in the upper chamber, speaking in confidence, revealed that President Tinubu has written to the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, expressing his intention to address the joint session. The two leaders are expected to read the letter to Senators and Members of the House of Representatives during Tuesday’s plenary.

Notably, President Tinubu had previously forwarded the 2024 – 2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) to the National Assembly, proposing an expenditure of N26.1 trillion for the 2024 fiscal year. After deliberations and interface with heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) on revenue and expenditure projections, the Senate's Committee of Finance approved the MTEF, including the N26.1 trillion proposed as the 2024 budget and other parameters as proposed by President Bola Tinubu.

The approved parameters include new borrowings of N7.8 trillion, an oil price benchmark for 2024 at $73.96, oil production at 1.78 million barrels per day, GDP growth rate of 3.76%, inflation rate of 21.40%, suggested benchmark exchange rate at N700 to $1 dollar, and a projected budget deficit of N9.04 trillion. The report also outlined the Federal Government's recommended spending of N26 trillion, with N16.9 trillion as retained revenue, a N9 trillion budget deficit (including GOEs), N7.8 trillion in new borrowings, N1.3 trillion worth of statutory transfers, an estimated N8.2 trillion in debt service, N234.6 billion in the sinking fund, N1.27 trillion in pension, gratuity, and retiree benefits, and a total recurrent (non-debt) of N10.2 trillion and N4.49 trillion as capital expenditure.

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