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REVIEW OF THE 2025 FEDERAL APPROPRIATION BILL AND ESTIMATES

Centre for Social Justice > Public Finance Management > Fiscal Responsibility > REVIEW OF THE 2025 FEDERAL APPROPRIATION BILL AND ESTIMATES

The 2025 Federal Appropriation Bill outlines the Nigerian government’s budgetary priorities for the fiscal year, focusing on economic recovery, infrastructure development, and social investment. The proposed budget reflects an emphasis on addressing macroeconomic challenges, improving service delivery, and fostering sustainable growth.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

The following key recommendations flow from this Review for the consideration of the National Assembly (NASS).

  • The exchange rate should be projected to not more than N1400 to 1USD.

 

  • It will be extremely difficult to maintain inflation at the proposed rate of 15%. 25% target is recommended.

 

  • Oil production of 9mbpd and a benchmark price of not more than $70 may be more realistic and feasible. Steps at the curtailment of the massive industrial oil theft through inter alia, the completion and activation of the real time online monitoring of all oil and gas assets and facilities.

 

  • The expected revenues from company income tax, value added tax, customs collection, education tax, independent revenue, domestic recovery, etc., are realistic and should be approved. However, legislative steps should be taken to block leakages in oil revenue, minerals and mining and electronic money transfer levy.

 

  • Enhanced efficiency and introduction of technology by revenue collection agencies should be used to boost FGN’s revenue but it is a capital NO to new taxes (including VAT) under any guise.

 

  • Smart policies and legislative interventions should be used to ensure that Nigeria reaps the full benefits from operations of private refineries and recently rehabilitated public refineries to conserve foreign exchange and for Nigeria to be a net exporter of refined petroleum and associated products.

 

  • Consider reduction of the fiscal deficit, especially the deficit financed through new borrowing to not more than 60% of the proposed deficit.

 

  • Tax expenditure should be capped at not more than 5% of aggregate revenue. It is proposed that the 5% rule should be part of an amended Fiscal Responsibility Act. The Legislature should demand the list of proposed tax expenditures and the justifications as an appendix to the Appropriation Bill and consider and approve same with the budget.

 

  • Meticulously scrutinize administrative capital votes and cap same at not more than 10% of the capital vote. The savings should be reprogrammed to developmental capital.

 

  • Disperse and re-allocate not less than 70% of Service Wide Votes to the MDAs that have statutory mandates over the projects and issues.

 

  • Streamline infrastructure projects in MDAs like Works, Water Resources, Power, etc., to ensure that resources are not so thinly spread. This will guarantee budgetary performance and results as well as value for money.

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  • Ensure that lump sum votes and project tied loans are disaggregated and details made available to Nigerians before approval.

 

  • Use legislative interventions to activate the mandatory and compulsory health insurance regime of the National Health Insurance Authority Act and enact a Health Development Bank of Nigeria Act.

 

  • Enact a Buy Made in Nigeria Act to facilitate the building of a concentric circle, of a Nigerian economy for Nigerians in Nigeria and in the Diaspora, some form of “Make Nigeria Great Again” Policy. This will guarantee that budgetary expenditure stimulates the Nigerian economy for growth.

 

  • Enact a Road Fund and Road Management Authority Act that will raise funds froma plethora of sources for the development of the Roads Sector.

 

  • Ensure that the South East, South West, North West and North East Development Commissions have the details of their budgets in the public domain before approval. Secrecy in the programming of these Commissions is the best route to duplicate the waste and lack of value for money associated with earlier Development Commissions.

 

  • This Review is a counterpart to CSJ’s pull out of Frivolous, Inappropriate and Wasteful Expenditure and those savings should be channeled to the critical sectors such as Education, Health and Infrastructure especially in Works, Railways and provision of renewable energy.

 

https://csj-ng.org/download/229038/?tmstv=1736783334

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