President Bola Tinubu is poised to present the 2024 Supplementary Budget to the National Assembly (NASS). In a recent m address to a joint sitting of the National Assembly on Wednesday, President Tinubu remarked, “I submitted the last budget to you. You expeditiously passed it. We are walking the talk. I will soon bring the Year 2024 (Supplementary) Appropriation Bill. That is just for your information.”
This announcement was made during a joint sitting to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Nigeria’s 4th Republic. Senate President Godswill Akpabio, responding to the President’s statement, expressed readiness to receive the forthcoming budget. “Thank you, Mr President, we will be expecting the Supplementary Appropriation Bill of 2024 as soon as possible,” Akpabio stated.
The joint sitting also marked the first anniversary of the Tinubu administration, during which the President confirmed ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’ as the nation’s new anthem. Tinubu highlighted the significance of the anthem, saying, “You sang out the latest national anthem, ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’. This is our diversity, representing all characters and how we blend to be brothers and sisters.”
He emphasized the need for continued collaboration between the Senate and the House of Representatives to drive the country towards sustained progress and development. “We have no other choice; it is our nation. No other institution or personality will help us unless we do it ourselves. No amount of aid from foreign countries or any other nation (will fix us), they take care of themselves first. Let us work together as we are doing to build our nation, not only for us but for generations unborn,” he urged.
Earrlier this year, on January 1, 2024, President Tinubu signed the ₦28.7 trillion 2024 Appropriation Bill, which had been passed by the Senate, into law. This budget was ₦1.2 trillion higher than the one initially proposed by the President during a joint NASS session on November 29, 2023. Dubbed the 2024 ‘Budget of Renewed Hope’, the budget was based on an oil price benchmark of $77.96 per barrel and a daily oil production estimate of 1.78 million barrels.
Despite these projections, the naira has experienced significant depreciation. Initially pegged at ₦750/$1 in the 2024 budget, the naira’s value plummeted to nearly ₦2,000/$1 by February, just weeks into the budget’s implementation. The currency has been highly volatile, trading around ₦1500/$1 in recent months following the unification of the foreign exchange windows. This dramatic decline has posed serious challenges for the nation’s economy, adding urgency to the need for the supplementary budget.
As Nigeria navigates these economic difficulties, the President’s call for unity and collective effort emphasizing the importance of domestic solutions over reliance on foreign aid. The forthcoming 2024 Supplementary Appropriation Bill will likely address some of these pressing issues as the country strives to stabilize its economy and lay a stronger foundation for future growth.
