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  • FULL TEXT: Tinubu’s 2026 budget speech – “Budget of consolidation, renewed resilience and shared prosperity”

    FULL TEXT: Tinubu’s 2026 budget speech – “Budget of consolidation, renewed resilience and shared prosperity”

    President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, At the Joint Session of the National Assembly, Abuja, Friday, 19 December 2025

    PROTOCOLS

    • Distinguished Senate President,
    • Rt. Honourable Speaker and Honourable Members of the House of Representatives,
    • Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of the National Assembly,
    • Fellow Nigerians,
    1. I am here today to fulfil an essential constitutional obligation by presenting the 2026 Appropriation Bill to this esteemed Joint Session of the National Assembly for your consideration.
    • This budget represents a defining moment in our national journey of reform and transformation. Over the last two and a half years, my government has methodically confronted long‑standing structural weaknesses, stabilised our economy, rebuilt confidence, and laid a durable foundation for the construction of a more resilient, inclusive, and dynamic Nigeria.
    • Though necessary, the reforms have not been painless. Families and businesses have faced pressure; established systems have been disrupted; and budget execution has been tested. I acknowledge these difficulties plainly. Yet, I am here, today, to assure Nigerians that their sacrifices are not in vain. The path of reform is seldom smooth, but it is the surest route to lasting stability and shared prosperity.
    • Today, I present a Budget that consolidates our gains, strengthens our resilience, and takes this country from out of the dark tunnel of hopelessness, from survival to growth.
    • The 2026 Budget is themed: “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity“. It reflects our determination to lock in macroeconomic stability, deepen competitiveness, and ensure that growth translates into decent jobs, rising incomes, and a better quality of life across for every Nigerian.
    • Mr. Chairman, Leaders of the National Assembly, while the global outlook continues to improve, this Budget aims to further strengthen our Nigerian economy to benefit all our citizens.
    • I am encouraged that our reform efforts are already yielding measurable results:
    • Our economy grew by 3.98 per cent in Q3 2025, up from 3.86 per cent in Q3 2024.
    • Inflation has moderated for eight consecutive months, with headline inflation declining to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, from 24.23 per cent in March 2025. With stabilising food and energy prices, tighter monetary conditions, and improving supply responses, we expect the deflationary trend to persist over the 2026 horizon, barring major supply shocks.
    • Oil production has improved, supported by enhanced security, technology deployment, and sector reforms.
    • Non‑oil revenues have expanded significantly through better tax administration.
    • Investor confidence is returning, reflected in capital inflows, renewed project financing, and stronger private‑sector participation.
    • Our external reserves rose to a 7‑year high of about US47 billion dollars as of last month, providing over 10 months of import cover and a more substantial buffer against shocks.
    • These outcomes are not accidental or lucky. They are the consequence of our difficult policy choices. Our next objective is to deepen our gains in pursuit of enduring and inclusive prosperity.
    • Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Members, our 2025 budget implementation faced the realities of transition and competing execution demands. As of Q3 2025, we recorded:
    • 18.6 trillion naira in revenue — representing 61% of our target; and
    • 24.66 trillion naira in expenditure — representing 60% of our target.
    1. Following the extension of the 2024 capital budget execution to December 2025, a total of 2.23 trillion naira was released for the implementation of 2024 capital projects as of June 2025.
    1. While fiscal challenges persisted, the government met its key obligations. However, only 3.10 trillion naira — about 17.7% of the 2025 capital budget — was released as of Q3, reflecting the emphasis on completing priority 2024 capital projects during the transition period.
    1. Let me be clear: 2026 will be a year of stronger discipline in budget execution. I have issued directives to the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Honourable Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, the Accountant‑General of the Federation, and the Director‑General of the Budget Office of the Federation to ensure that the 2026 Budget is implemented strictly in line with the appropriated details and timelines.
    1. We expect improved revenue performance through the new National Tax Acts and the ongoing reforms in the oil and gas sector — reforms designed not merely to raise revenue, but to drive transparency, efficiency, fairness, and long‑term value in our fiscal architecture.
    1. I have also provided clear and direct guidance regarding Government‑Owned Enterprises. Heads of all agencies have been directed to meet their assigned revenue targets. To support this, we will deploy end‑to‑end digitisation of revenue mobilisation — standardised e‑collections, interoperable payment rails, automated reconciliation, data‑driven risk profiling, and real‑time performance dashboards — so leakages are sealed, compliance is verifiable, and remittances are prompt. These targets will form core components of performance evaluations and institutional scorecards. Nigeria can no longer afford leakages, inefficiencies, or underperformance in strategic agencies. Every institution must play its part.
    1. Mr Chairman and fellow Nigerians, the 2026 Budget is guided by four clear objectives:
    2. Consolidate macroeconomic stability;
    3. Improve the business and investment environment;
    4. Promote job‑rich growth and reduce poverty; and
    5. Strengthen human capital development while protecting the vulnerable.
    1. In short: we will spend with purpose, manage debt with discipline, and pursue broad-based, sustainable growth.
    1. Distinguished Members, the 2026 Federal Budget is anchored on realism, prudence, and growth.
    1. The key aggregates are as follows:
    2. Expected total revenue is 34.33 trillion naira.
    3. Projected total expenditure is 58.18 trillion naira, including 15.52 trillion naira for debt servicing.
    4. Recurrent (non‑debt) expenditure is 15.25 trillion naira.
    5. Capital expenditure will be 26.08 trillion.
    6. The Budget deficit is expected to be 23.85 trillion naira, representing 4.28% of GDP.
    1. These numbers are not mere accounting lines. They are a statement of national priorities. We remain firmly committed to fiscal sustainability, debt transparency, and value‑for‑money spending.
    • The 2026–2028 Medium‑Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper sets the parameters for this Budget. Our projections are based on:
    • a conservative crude oil benchmark of US64.85 dollars per barrel;
    • crude oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day; and
    • an average exchange rate of 1,400 naira to the US Dollar for the 2026 fiscal year.
    • We will continue to reduce waste, strengthen controls, and ensure that every naira borrowed or spent delivers measurable public value.
    • Our allocations reflect the Renewed Hope Agenda and the practical needs of Nigerians. Key sectoral provisions include:
    • Defence and security: 5.41 trillion naira
    • Infrastructure: 3.56 trillion naira
    • Education: 3.52 trillion naira
    • Health: 2.48 trillion naira
    • These priorities are interlinked. Without security, investment will not thrive. Without educated and healthy citizens, productivity will not rise. Without infrastructure, jobs and enterprises will not scale. This Budget is, therefore, designed to provide a single, coherent programme of national renewal.
    1. National Security and Peacebuilding
    2. National Security remains the foundation of development. The 2026 Budget strengthens support for:
    3. modernisation of the Armed Forces;
    4. intelligence‑driven policing and joint operations;
    5. border security and technology‑enabled surveillance; and
    6. community‑based peacebuilding and conflict prevention.
    • We will invest in security with clear accountability for outcomes — because security spending must deliver results. To secure our country, our priority will remain on increasing the fighting capability of our armed forces and other security agencies and boosting the effectiveness of our fighting forces with cutting-edge equipment and other hardware.
    • We will usher in a new era of criminal justice. We will show no mercy to those who commit or support acts of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom and other violent crimes.
    • Our administration is resetting the national security architecture and establishing a new national counterterrorism doctrine — a holistic redesign anchored on unified command, intelligence gathering, community stability, and counter – insurgency. This new doctrine will fundamentally change how we confront terrorism and other violent crimes.
    • Under this new architecture, any armed group or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists.
    • Bandits, militias, armed gangs, armed robbers, violent cults, forest-based armed groups and foreign-linked mercenaries will all be targeted. We will go after all those who perpetrate violence for political or sectarian ends, along with those who finance and facilitate their evil schemes.
    • Human Capital Development: Education and Health
    • No nation can grow beyond the quality of its people. The 2026 Budget strengthens investments in education, skills, healthcare, and social protection.
    • In education, we are expanding access to higher education through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund. Over seven hundred and eighty eight thousand students have been supported, in partnership with two hundred and twenty nine tertiary institutions nationwide.
    • In healthcare, I am pleased to highlight that investment in healthcare is 6 per cent of the total budget size, net of liabilities.
    • We also appreciate the support of international partners. Recent high‑level engagements with the Government of the United States have opened the door to over 500 million United States dollars for health interventions across Nigeria. We welcome this partnership and assure Nigerians that these resources will be deployed transparently and effectively.
    • Infrastructure and Economic Productivity
    • Across the nation, projects of all shapes and sizes are moving from vision to reality. These include transport and energy infrastructure, port modernisation, agricultural reforms, and strategic investments to unlock private capital.
    • We will take decisive steps to strengthen agricultural markets. Food security shall remain a national priority. The 2026 Budget focuses on input financing and mechanisation; irrigation and climate‑resilient agriculture; storage and processing; and agro‑value chains.
    • These measures will reduce post‑harvest losses, improve incomes for small holders, deepen agro‑industrialisation, and build a more resilient, diversified economy.
    • In 2026, the Bank of Agriculture plans to plant confidence back into our soil; mechanising through seven regional hubs, protecting harvests with fair prices and substantial reserves, providing affordable finance to millions of small holders and growing export value. Under the plan, Nigerian farmers will cultivate one million hectares, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and prove that prosperity can rise through better use of our God given land.
    • Procurement
    • Starting in November last year, the government has embarked upon a comprehensive framework of procurement reforms. These reforms have enhanced efficiency and generated significant cost savings for the government, resulting in resulting in reduced processing times for Government contracts and better enforcement procedures directed against erring contractors and government officials.
    • Our Nigeria First Policy has been established to encourage self-sufficiency and sustainable growth within Nigeria by promoting domestic products and businesses. By mandating that all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) consider Nigerian-made goods and local companies as their primary option, the policy aims to support local industries, create job opportunities, and reduce dependency on imported items. This bold new approach is expected to enhance the competitiveness of Nigerian enterprises, foster innovation, and ultimately contribute to the country’s overall economic development.
    • Distinguished Members and fellow Nigerians, the most significant budget is not the one we announce. It is the one we deliver.
    • Therefore, 2026 will be guided by three practical commitments:
    • Better revenue mobilisation through efficiency, transparency, and compliance.
    • Better spending by prioritising projects that can be completed, measured, and felt by citizens.
    • Better accountability through strengthening of procurement discipline, monitoring, and reporting.
    • We will build trust by matching our words with results, and our allocations with outcomes.
    • Distinguished Members of the National Assembly, fellow Nigerians, the 2026 Budget is not a budget of promises; it is a Budget of consolidation, renewed resilience and shared prosperity. It builds on the reforms of the past two and a half years, addresses emerging challenges, and sets a clear path towards a more secure, more competitive, more equitable, and more hopeful Nigeria.
    • I commend the people of this country for their understanding and resilience. My administration remains committed to easing the burdens of the transition to a more stable and prosperous nation. We promise to make sure that the benefits of reform reach households and communities across the Federation.
    • In united purpose between the Executive and the Legislature; and with the resilience of the Nigerian people, we will deliver the full promise of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
    • It is, therefore, with great pleasure that I lay before this distinguished Joint Session of the National Assembly; the 2026 Appropriation Bill of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, titled: “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity“. I seek your partnership in charting the nation’s fiscal course for the coming year.
    • May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
    • Thank you.

    Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR

    President, Commander-in-Chief of The Armed Forces,

    Federal Republic of Nigeria

  • BREAKING: FEC approves ₦58.47trn 2026 Budget proposal

    BREAKING: FEC approves ₦58.47trn 2026 Budget proposal

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Friday approved the 2026 Appropriation Bill, clearing the way for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to present the budget proposal to a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

    President Tinubu convened an emergency meeting of the Council at the State House, Abuja, to consider a single-item memorandum on the 2026 budget estimates ahead of their formal presentation to the National Assembly.

    Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Dr Tanimu Yakubu, said the approved 2026 budget has an aggregate expenditure of ₦58.47 trillion, representing a six percent increase over the 2025 budget estimate.

    According to Yakubu, the total expenditure framework includes projected spending by government-owned enterprises (GOEs) amounting to ₦4.98 trillion, as well as ₦1.37 trillion earmarked for grants and donor-funded projects.

    Read Also: Heightened security at NASS as Tinubu presents 2026 budget today

    Statutory transfers are estimated at ₦4.1 trillion, while debt service obligations are projected at ₦15.52 trillion, including ₦3.39 trillion set aside for the sinking fund to retire maturing local debts owed to contractors and other creditors.

    Personnel costs, including pensions, are projected at ₦10.75 trillion, representing a seven per cent increase over the 2025 provision.

    This figure includes ₦1.02 trillion allocated to government-owned enterprises. Overhead costs are estimated at ₦2.22 trillion.

    The budget proposes a capital expenditure of ₦25.68 trillion, which is 1.8 per cent lower than the 2025 capital provision.

    Yakubu explained that the marginal reduction reflects a more conservative approach to capital planning, with emphasis on completing ongoing projects and ensuring value for money.

    He said capital allocation priorities include ₦11.3 trillion for ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), ₦2.05 trillion for multilateral and bilateral loan-funded projects, and ₦1.8 trillion representing the capital component of the development levy.

    Yakubu noted that the 2026 budget was designed to strike a balance between macroeconomic stabilisation and development imperatives within the medium-term fiscal framework.

    He said the underlying assumptions were conservative and realistic, particularly with respect to oil price, exchange rate, and dividends from government-owned enterprises.

    On the revenue outlook, the Budget Office boss said projected revenues are expected to decline year-on-year, but stressed that non-oil revenues now account for about two-thirds of total government receipts, confirming a structural shift away from oil dependence.

    He identified corporate income tax, value-added tax, customs duties, and independent revenues as the main fiscal anchors.

    He added that growth in expenditure is being driven largely by debt servicing, wages, and pensions rather than discretionary expansion, while the projected fiscal deficit reflects structural pressures rather than policy loosening.

    According to Yakubu, financing of the deficit will rely primarily on domestic borrowing, complemented by concessional loans from multilateral development institutions.

    Details shortly…

  • Implementation of 2025 budget begins September — FG

    Implementation of 2025 budget begins September — FG

    The Federal Government has said the implementation of the N54.99 trillion 2025 national budget will begin before the end of September as the 2024 fiscal year winds down.

    Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Tanimu Yakubu, stated this in Abuja during the 3rd Quarter Ministerial Stakeholders and Citizens Engagement Forum, organised by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.

    He explained that the 2025 budget, christened the “Budget of Restoration”, was designed to accelerate economic growth, improve delivery of public services, and channel investments into sectors that can drive inclusive development. 

    According to him, fiscal discipline and efficiency will determine how well the budget delivers on its promises.

    “This budget belongs to the people. Nigerians are the ultimate owners of public resources, and the way these resources are managed must reflect that reality,” Yakubu said. 

    He added that steps were being taken to make the budget more accessible, including translating documents into local languages and simplifying technical information so that communities can follow implementation and hold government to account.

    Yakubu also drew attention to fiscal challenges that continue to test Nigeria’s public finance system. Among them are the difficulty of setting realistic revenue targets in the oil sector, the fiscal implications of the Petroleum Industry Act, weak revenue recognition in project financing and tax credit schemes, and the heavy burden of debt servicing, which will take up N14.3 trillion in the 2025 budget.

    Read Also: Edun: 80% of Budget 2024 capital vote released

    To strengthen the economy, he outlined strategies such as ward-based development programmes across 8,809 wards, tax reforms to boost internally generated revenue, and partnerships with international partners. 

    One of such initiatives is a $30.9 million Nigeria-Japan start-up programme aimed at encouraging innovation. Yakubu noted that these efforts align with Nigeria’s goal of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

    Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, told participants that the government remains committed to making decisions guided by evidence. “We cannot afford to design policies based on guesswork. Data must guide every step we take because it is the foundation of responsible governance,” he said.

    Also speaking, the Statistician-General of the Federation, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, stressed the importance of public trust in national statistics. He called for more investment in data systems, pointing out that issues such as limited survey sample sizes, poor funding, and outdated equipment hinder accuracy and quality.

    While acknowledging global changes in how key indicators such as unemployment are measured, Adeniran said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) follows international best practices and receives technical guidance from organisations such as the United Nations and the World Bank.

    “Statistics are not for government alone; they are public goods. Every citizen should not only have access to them but also understand what they mean. The media and civil society have a role in making this happen,” he said.

    He listed new measures being introduced by the NBS, including statistical literacy campaigns, upgraded data visualisation tools, a redesigned website, and closer engagement with citizens’ groups.

    The Abuja gathering drew senior officials, development partners, and representatives of civil society, all of whom stressed the need for reliable data and fiscal transparency to guide Nigeria’s economic and development agenda.

  • There is no perfect nation to be born

    There is no perfect nation to be born

    There is no perfect nation to be born yet Nigeria is deemed an ultimate hell to every newborn. Thus the rat race by most Nigerians to Japa. In 2013, an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report ranked the country 80th out of 80 countries assessed in its Where-to-be-born-index. Twelve years on, Nigerians throng American and European consulates in a frantic bid to Japa.

    No thanks to the Economist’s sister publication, most Nigerian kids may mature thinking they had been born where the neurotic tick-tock of midnight silences the whispers of dawn.

    From birth through adulthood, each poor child glides down maturity like a greased pole to hell. The scriptural hell, we are told, shall be consequent at a future date: the judgement day. But here in Nigeria, we make our matches from mayhem and distil sulphur from sadness, ultimately to make our hell.

    Predictably, the EIU report inspired doomsday forecasts about the country; foremost columnists and newspapers penned damning editorials affirming the report – as they do every International Child’s Day or Children’s Day in Nigeria. Amid the bleeding heart patois, child advocacy groups serially squeeze local and international donors of grants that hardly get to the touted recipients.

    Through the preachment and plots, a crucial voice dies without recourse; the voice of the Nigerian child. If there has been any change since the EIU’s damning report, it is barely discernible.

    To speak for the newborn and generations unborn, we must learn to speak ‘humane.’ We must reinvent Nigeria as a nation fit for every human segment, children, in particular. Nigeria must improve her education and health sectors.

    President Bola Tinubu’s 2025 budget allocations to education and health signal an attempt to confront two of the most pressing challenges facing Nigerian children: access to quality learning and adequate healthcare. On paper, the numbers appear impressive—N3.52 trillion for education, with a significant portion directed at infrastructure and student support, and N2.48 trillion for health, including funds for strengthening primary healthcare systems. Yet, beyond the figures lies a deeper question: will these allocations translate into real, tangible improvements in the lives of Nigerian children?

    In education, the expansion of higher institutions and the N34 billion earmarked for student loans suggest a policy shift toward accessibility, but the reality remains that the majority of Nigerian children struggle to receive even the most basic primary education. Many classrooms remain overcrowded, understaffed, and lacking essential teaching materials. While infrastructure investments may create new structures, without a corresponding investment in teacher training, curriculum improvement, and systemic reforms, Nigerian children may find themselves sitting in new classrooms that offer little by way of quality education.

    On the healthcare front, the allocation of N282.65 billion to the Basic Health Care Fund offers a glimmer of hope, particularly in addressing primary healthcare needs. However, with Nigeria’s health sector plagued by a shortage of medical professionals, dilapidated facilities, and an overburdened system, the question remains whether these funds will effectively trickle down to rural clinics and urban slums where children face malnutrition, preventable diseases, and high infant mortality rates. The additional $200 million set aside to fill gaps left by the suspension of U.S. health aid is a necessary intervention, but it highlights the country’s continued dependence on external funding rather than a sustainable, internally-driven approach to child welfare.

    Read Also: Akpabio assures of Senate full participation in Clark’s burial

    In 2023, President Bola Tinubu pledged that, on his watch, every Nigerian child, regardless of his or her background, would have access to quality education. Speaking while receiving representatives of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) at the State House, in Abuja, he said, “If we all believe that education is the greatest weapon against poverty, then we have to invest in it. If you eliminate poverty in one family, you can carry the rest of the weight. Poverty should not prevent anyone.”

    In 2024, only 7.9% of the N27.5 trillion budget was dedicated to education, and in 2025, the figure dropped slightly to 7.3% of the N47.9 trillion budget. While the 2025 allocation of N3.52 trillion represents a nominal increase in funding, its proportion of the total budget remains disappointingly low. Given Nigeria’s struggling education sector—marked by dilapidated infrastructure, poor teacher remuneration, and inadequate learning resources—this level of funding is unlikely to drive the change needed. However, Mr President’s promise to allocate 25 per cent of the national budget to education, in time, is encouraging.

    A 2022 UNICEF report states that Nigeria accounts for approximately 20.2 million out-of-school children, the second highest number of unschooled children globally after India. On Tinubu’s watch, the education system must be re-envisioned to address the disparities that make education incompatible with job market realities.

    More importantly, a remedial education summit must be convened by the Federal Government where issues of impracticality and redundancy can be addressed; there, the curriculum must be reviewed and recalibrated as a Nigerian-centred syllabus driven to reflect global learning and cater to the immediate and envisioned realities of the country’s labour market and socioeconomic milieu.

    The Tinubu administration must also cater to the health needs of children, revamp healthcare services and institutionalise incentives for health workers, to arrest brain-drain within the health sector. In 2023, the Special Adviser to the President on Health, Salma Anas, stated at a health summit in, Abuja, that President Tinubu has pledged to increase the annual health allocation to 10 per cent of the country’s total budget. Subsequently, the President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr. Dele Abdullahi, urged Tinubu to allocate at least 15 per cent of the 2024 annual budget to the health sector. Abdullahi’s plea is worth consideration given the state of the sector; just 24,000 licensed physicians currently cater to the over 200 million population in the country. This negates the WHO minimum threshold that a country needs a mix of 23 doctors, nurses, and midwives per 10,000 population.

    Foreign Trade Statistics by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also reveals that the country is heavily dependent on foreign drug manufacturers thus subjecting the citizenry to the machinations of the mercantile and much dreaded big pharma. Between the third and fourth quarter of 2021 alone, Nigeria imported anti-malarial drugs worth over N110 billion. This requires urgent reinvigoration of Nigeria’s local drug manufacturing capacity.

    Tinubu’s administration must also work with State governments to prioritise child protection by ensuring a comprehensive and enforceable legal framework and policies that safeguard children from all forms of exploitation.

    To guarantee the success of these measures, Mr. President must evolve and sustain an effective monitoring and evaluative mechanism to effectively neuter the human and structural elements of sabotage. President Tinubu must never shy from wielding the big stick and instituting punitive measures against persons, groups or institutions that may work against the realisation of the highlighted policy goals.

    President Tinubu must appreciate his position for the wonderful opportunities it offers; beyond his hard-fought victory, the status quo provides a priceless opportunity to reconnect with broad segments of the electorate in realistic terms and convert them to ambassadors of the Nigerian enterprise.  

    Nigerians expect him to lay the foundation for the fortune he promised. They expect him to midwife national prosperity built “on a fast-growing industrial base capable of producing the most basic needs of the people and an export track to other countries of the world,” as he promised. They expect him to deploy humane governance to resolve insecurity and socioeconomic crises.

    They expect him to rebuild Nigeria as the best nation to be born.

  • Row over union’s budget reinstatement

    Row over union’s budget reinstatement

    The recent re-admittance of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) into the Federal Government’s budget allocation has reignited optimism among industry stakeholders, who view it as a major step towards restoring efficiency and accountability within the Council.

    CRFFN’s exclusion from government funding was initially set in motion by a June 26, 2023, circular issued by the Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze.

    The directive, following a resolution by the Presidential Committee on Salaries, ordered the removal of professional bodies and councils, including CRFFN, from the government’s budgetary provisions starting January 1, 2024. This decision significantly hampered the Council’s operations, leading to lapses in regulatory oversight and financial struggles for staff and industry programmes.

    Meanwhile, the Council was recently re-admitted into the federal government’s budget with an allocation of N1.75 billion for the 2025 fiscal year.

    According to the budget breakdown, N780.3 million is earmarked for personnel costs, including salaries, allowances, pensions, and health insurance. N270 million is allocated for overhead expenses such as travel, utilities, security, and training, while N700 million is set aside for capital projects, including N260 million for rehabilitating the Nigerian Institute of Freight Forwarders and N100 million for training programmes.

    With this move, industry experts believe CRFFN has a fresh opportunity to fulfill its core mandate. According to them, with government backing, the Council’s regulatory role will be strengthened, particularly in training freight forwarders and addressing long-standing operational challenges. However, they caution that increased government scrutiny and accountability must accompany this funding.

    Read Also: Senate will pass N54.2trn 2025 budget this week, says Akpabio

    Public Relations Officer of the Africa Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), Tin Can Chapter, Clinton Okoro, described the development as a “great achievement” and a validation of CRFFN’s status as a government agency.

    “With this re-admittance, it clearly shows that CRFFN is a governmental agency, and now there’s a budget. I don’t think the issue of non-payment of salaries will still be heard,” Okoro said. 

    He also expressed optimism that the new Registrar, Mr. Kingsley Igwe, will bring reforms to the agency, particularly regarding the administration of Practitioners Operating Fees (POF), which has been mired in controversy over allegations of corruption.

     “I believe with the new man, Mr. Kingsley Igwe, at the helm of affairs, he is going to change the narrative by going back to the core mandate of training and retraining freight forwarders. CRFFN should also ensure the allocation of POF percentages to customs clearing agencies that comply with payment,” he added.

    Similarly, National Financial Secretary of the Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN), Alex Nwokedi, welcomed the development, emphasising that the lack of budgetary support had hindered the Council’s performance in recent years.

     “If you look at their performances in the last three or four years, they have been performing very low because they were not admitted into that budget. Any organisation without a budget cannot function effectively,” Nwokedi stated.

    He further called on CRFFN to ensure proper disbursement of funds, particularly to freight agents, noting that POF collections had not been remitted to them for a long time.

    For Deputy National President, Air and Logistics at the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Segun Musa, CRFFN’s re-admittance into the budget should be followed by aggressive capacity-building initiatives.

     “I would advise CRFFN to start embarking on intensive free training for all freight forwarders, as well as interfacing with other government agencies to resolve trade issues. The management should also come up with great and sustainable strategies to showcase the relevance of the Council,” Musa said.

    Echoing similar sentiments, John Oforbike, a chieftain of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), urged CRFFN to revisit the core purpose of its establishment and ensure it is not reduced to a mere revenue-generating agency.

     “They have to look at the Act that established the CRFFN and why it was established. The CRFFN was created to train operators and make people grow with the trend of events. They have to go back to the drawing board and look at that purpose,” he stated.

    However, Oforbike warned that the Council should not see its budgetary inclusion as an opportunity for complacency, as government oversight would now be heightened.

     “There will be a deep searchlight now by the government to watch the activities of the Council through the EFCC and other departments. They must ensure that whatever they do should be within the scope that created them, and there should be serious accountability. It should not be business as usual again,” he cautioned.

  • Budget interrogation

    Budget interrogation

    As Nigerians await the National Assembly’s approval of the 2025 Appropriation Bill, the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) claims to have detected 254 “frivolous, inappropriate, unclear and wasteful expenditures” that should be eliminated. The number is concerning.

    The alleged suspicious items include N5.492bn budgeted for the annual maintenance of the Presidential Villa and N6.042bn also budgeted for annual routine maintenance of mechanical/ electrical installation, building/civil and environmental services within and around the Villa facilities.

    Also, the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning budgeted N230m to provide clean and potable water in 774 local government areas, “which is far from its mandate.” It also budgeted N115m for purchase of UPS, desktops and laptops.

    The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security budgeted N2bn for the provision and installation of solar power streetlights in rural communities in the six geopolitical zones, without specific location and no identification of beneficiaries. The organisation said “this is a replication of a project which is handled by the rural electrification agency.”

    Similarly, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy budgeted N952.075m for innovation and coordination of the ministry’s policy programme. 

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    The Ministry of Water Resources budgeted over N1bn for the purchase of utility and Hilux operational vehicles. It also budgeted N450m for the construction of rural access roads nationwide, “which clearly is outside its mandate.”

     Apart from some of the allegedly questionable items stated, the organisation said “the budget includes vague allocations under service-wide votes, such as N4.409tn, which lack clear specifications on how the funds will be utilised.”

    CSJ lead director Eze Onyekpere was reported saying, “the reasonable expectation is that every available resource in the 2025 federal budget proposal should be targeted at concrete deliverables aimed at reducing poverty, creating jobs, improving infrastructure and stimulating economic growth.”

    Indeed, Nigerians do not expect a wasteful budget. President Bola Tinubu recently requested an increase in the 2025 budget by N4.5tn, bringing the total from N49.7tn to N54.2tn.  The request was based on additional revenue from some government agencies in 2024, including the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) which raised an extra N1.4tn, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) which contributed N1.2tn, and other government agencies which collectively generated an additional N1.8tn.

    The observations of the CSJ are thought-provoking. These critical questions must be asked:  What is the integrity of the proposed budget?  Is it a truthful reflection of projected spending? How transparent is the process by which it was created? Does it contain any provisions that could facilitate corruption?

  • Reps endorse FG’s economic strategy, pledge efficient budget oversight

    Reps endorse FG’s economic strategy, pledge efficient budget oversight

    The House of Representatives has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting President Bola Tinubu’s administration in delivering the dividends of democracy to Nigerians, particularly through its scrutiny of the 2025 budget proposal.

    Speaking with reporters in Abuja, Deputy Spokesman of the House, Phillip Agbese, stated that the parliament remains dedicated to ensuring a thorough and diligent review of the budget as presented by the President, including the recently proposed upward adjustment.

    Agbese defended the President’s request for an increase in the budget from ₦49.7 trillion to ₦54.2 trillion, attributing the revision to additional revenue inflows from key government agencies.

    “The House of Representatives welcomes the President’s proposal to revise the 2025 budget, which seeks to increase the allocation to ₦54.2 trillion. This bold move, driven by additional revenue from key government agencies, demonstrates the administration’s commitment to revitalizing the economy and improving the lives of Nigerians,” he stated.

    He highlighted the budget’s focus on critical sectors, particularly agriculture, as a significant step towards achieving food security.

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    “As we delve into the details of the proposal, we’re particularly encouraged by the focus on strategic sectors, such as agriculture, which will receive a significant boost through the injection of funds into the Bank of Agriculture. This initiative has the potential to empower our farmers, stimulate rural development, and enhance food security,” he said.

    Agbese also emphasized the budget’s prioritization of national security, particularly the proposed construction of military barracks.

    “We also noted the proposal’s emphasis on enhancing national security, particularly the construction of barracks for our troops. This investment in our military’s welfare and infrastructure attests to the administration’s dedication to protecting our nation and its citizens,” he added.

    Assuring Nigerians of the House’s commitment to ensuring a value-driven budget, Agbese pledged that the legislature would rigorously scrutinize the proposal to guarantee prudent allocation of resources.

  • Passage of N49.7trn 2025 Budget likely this week

    Passage of N49.7trn 2025 Budget likely this week

    There indications yesterday that the National Assembly may likely pass the proposed N49.7 trillion 2025 Appropriation Bill this week.

    Senate spokesman Yemi Adaramodu hinged the likelihood on the content of the report of the Appropriation Committees. 

    The Senate and House of Representatives joint Committees on Appropriation are lay their reports today before the Committee of the Whole for further deliberations, it was learnt.

    Both chambers scheduled January 31 to pass the budget but the date was shifted to allow standing committees to complete the defence by heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

    The upper and lower chambers are also expected to adjourn plenary in honour of the late Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Oriyomi Adewunmi Onanuga, upon resumption tomorrow.

    Speaking to our Correspondent in Abuja, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Adeyemi Adaramodu, confirmed that the budget would likely be passed this week depending on the content of the report expected to be presented by the National Assembly Committees on Appropriations before the respective chambers.

    He said: “You know we are reconvening on the 4th which is Tuesday. So, when we convene, we will be expecting the reports.

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    “So, issues that the reports would generate will determine the day the budget will be passed.”

    Responding to a question, Adaramodu said: “It’s not going to be a graveyard silence. The report would be laid on the floor and then we will ask questions from the Committee on Appropriation and the Committee on Finance.

    “Thereafter the Senate would seek the concurrence of the House of Representatives and then the transmission to the presidency for assent.

    “So, the Senate is expecting the report of the Committee on Appropriation on Tuesday.

    Immediately, it will be committed to the Committee of the Whole chamber whereby we pick the budget clause by clause, almost line by line.”

    Asked if the budget would be passed this week, the Senate spokesman said: “We may likely pass it but it depends on so many variables, like the report of the Appropriations Committee and then the exhaustive debate that we will have on the budget report thereafter.

    “We want to do this budget thoroughly so that we will not be going back and forth on all these supplementary. We want to be thorough. We want to be thorough with it.”

    On likely increase in the total budget presented to the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in December 2024 in view requests from MDAs, Adaramodu said that would depend on the recommendations the Appropriation Committees in their report.

  • Alleged inducement of House panel to pass varsity budget false, says chairman

    Alleged inducement of House panel to pass varsity budget false, says chairman

    The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on University Education, Abubakar Hassan Fulata (APC, Jigawa), has said the allegations that its members asked for a bribe to pass the budget federal universities was untrue.

    He said those who made the allegation wanted to undermine the efforts of the lawmakers to improve the standard of education in the country.

    An online newspaper had reported that the National Assembly joint Committee on Education was asking for financial inducement from vice chancellors of federal universities to pass their 2025 budget.

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    Fulata said he decided to respond to the allegations to avoid misleading the public about the activities of the committee and the 10th House of Representatives.

    The committee chairman explained that due to the advocacy of the legislators against inclusion of tertiary institutions of learning in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), President Bola Ahmed Tinubu agreed to remove universities and other tertiary institutions from the payment platform because the IPPIS is “anti-intellectual, anti-academics and retrogressive”.

    According to him, as a result of the absence of councils for universities and other tertiary institutions nearly a year after the inauguration of the present government, the House of Representatives considered and adopted a motion for Mr. President to constitute the councils, which was done almost immediately by the President.

  • ‘Allegations of inducement to pass varsities’ budget false’

    ‘Allegations of inducement to pass varsities’ budget false’

    The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on University Education, Abubakar Hassan Fulata (APC, Jigawa), has dismissed the allegations of demand of inducement to pass the federal budget.

    An online newspaper had reported that the National Assembly joint Committee on Education was demanding money from vice chancellors of Federal universities to pass their 2025 budget.

    Reacting to the allegations, Fulata said he decided to respond to the allegations to avoid misleading the public about the activities of the committee and the 10th House of Representatives.

    He said due to the advocacy of the legislators against inclusion of tertiary institutions of learning in the  Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), President Bola Ahmed Tinubu agreed to remove universities and other tertiary institutions from IPPIS because the IPPIS is  “anti-intellectual, anti-academics and retrogressive”.

    According to him, as a result of the absence of councils for  universities and other tertiary institutions nearly a year after the inauguration of the present government, the House of Representatives considered and adopted a motion urging the President to constitute the councils, which was done almost immediately.

    He explained that the House Committee on University Education had in 2024 carried out oversight visit to all  federal universities under his committee’s supervision, except Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, whose vice chancellor did not only block the legislators from accessing the school, but also failed to provide documents regarding budget performance of previous years (2022 to 2024) and 2025 budget proposal. He said the oversight visit was aimed at getting clearer pictures of the progress and challenges of the universities.

    According to him, the management of almost all the universities visited complained seriously against the hike in electricity tariff.

    “Some of the universities were  paying  about N100 million as electricity tariff every month and we thought this cannot help our tertiary institutions. I moved a motion on this issue  and the House came up with the resolution urging for downward review of electricity tariff or removal of these institutions from Band A electricity tariff.

    “Mr. President again listened to our appeal and approved 50 percent subsidy on electricity tariff for universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and all tertiary institutions and hospitals,” Fulata said.

    He said the committee’s budget defence meeting for National Universities Commission and vice chancellors of universities took place on January 15, 2025, immediately after the Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration.

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    He said the budget defence, which took place at the House temporary chamber was open to the general public and media as there was no executive session or closed door meeting during the meeting, which was brought to a close before another committee, House Committee on Water Resources commenced its budget defence meeting at the same venue by 2pm. He said if Mr. President despite his tight schedule, will appear before the joint session of National Assembly to present Appropriation bill, he sees no reason why heads of MDAs will find it difficult to defend their budget proposal.

    He said if the Ministers of Education, the Executive Secretary of NUC and other parastatals under the ministry as well as over 50 universities could come and defend their budget proposals before the committee, he saw no reason why vice-chancellors of  three universities would refuse to come and defend their budget proposal.

    “Instead, they have resorted to blackmail and smear campaign and sponsorship of public outcry against the committee.

    “The committee has placed the matter before the leadership of House, insisting that the House should not approve the budgets of all institutions whose chief executives refused to come and defend their budgets,” Fulata said.

    He said the House Committee on University Education, the House  Committees on Education and the House of Representatives under the leadership of the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, are determined and committed in ensuring uninterrupted academic activities in tertiary institutions as well as improving on the country’s standard of education.