February 7, 2025
Labour Party’s candidate in the 2023 Presidential Election, Peter Obi, has called for increased transparency and accountability following the recent addition to the 2025 Budget of Restoration to N54 trillion.
President Bola Tinubu had raised the 2025 budget from N49.7 trillion to N54.2 trillion due to reported revenue growth.
Reacting on his X handle, Obi emphasized that such expenditures should be directed towards critical areas of development, including education, healthcare, security, and poverty alleviation.
“Yesterday, I read about the increase in the Budget of Restoration to N54 trillion due to increased revenue. While the sources of this revenue were detailed, there is no corresponding breakdown of expenditures to justify the increase. For the sake of transparency and accountability, Nigerians need to know how the resources generated from them are being allocated to ensure they are judiciously spent on the country’s development and the well-being of the people,” Obi stated.
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Obi, who highlighted the importance of putting these expenditures into critical areas of the economy, emphasized that education, healthcare, security, and poverty alleviation should be given priority.
According to him, “Nigerians are still waiting for a detailed account of the execution and expenditures of the Renewed Hope budget passed in December 2023 to ensure that it has been properly utilized for the country’s future development and the well-being of its citizens.”
He challenged on the National Assembly to obtain and make public the full details of the 2024 budget of Renewed Hope, stressing that transparency is crucial for ensuring accountability, learning from past budgets, and making informed decisions.
“As we work towards passing the Budget of Restoration for 2025, let us uphold openness, accountability, and the welfare of the Nigerian people. We owe it to ourselves, our children, and the future of our great nation,” Obi noted.
President Tinubu had in separate letters forwarded to both the Senate and the House of Representatives, announced the increment of the 2025 budget.
Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, explained that the increment was to allow for the approval of more revenue to strengthen the Bank of Agriculture and Bank of Industry.
Bagudu, further explained that the increase was also intended to support the administration’s diversification program by allocating more funds to the solid minerals sector and infrastructure projects.
Citing additional revenues of N1.4 trillion from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), N1.2 trillion from the Nigeria Customs Service, and N1.8 trillion generated by other government-owned agencies
Tinubu attributed the N4.53 trillion addition to the appropriation bill to increased revenues recorded by some federal government revenue-generating agencies.
