Tinubu Presents First Annual Budget At National Assembly

President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, presented the 2024 appropriation bill before a joint session of the National Assembly. President Tinubu entered the Chamber of the House of Representatives at 11.13 a.m. The National Anthem was recited upon his arrival. The President of the Senate and Chairman of the National Assembly, Godswill Akpabio, called the House to order at 11.15 a.m. Akpabio began the reading of the welcome address at 11.20 a.m. Ahead of today’s budget presentation three weeks ago, Tinubu forwarded to both chambers the 2024–2026 MTEF and Fiscal Strategy Paper. The President, in his presentation, outlined the major sectors of the economy under which the budget will be prioritized. Tinubu outlined national defense and internal security, local job creation, macro-economic stability, human capital development, social security, poverty reduction, and investment as some of the areas his Budget of Renewed Hope will focus on. In the paper, N26.1 trillion was proposed as the total expenditure profile for the 2024 fiscal year and later adjusted to N27.5 trillion. The Senate, through its Committee on Finance, after two weeks of interactive sessions with heads of ministries, departments, and agencies on revenue and expenditure projections made for them, approved the MTEF. Tinubu's speech reads in part: "In furtherance of my sacred duties and obligations as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is my honor to be here today to present my administration’s 2024 Budget Proposal to this Joint Session of the 10th National Assembly. This moment is especially profound and significant to me because it is my first annual budgetary presentation to the National Assembly."