Rep. Auwalu Abdu Gwalabe, a member representing Katagum Federal Constituency, has raised serious concerns over the 2025 budget presented by President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking to the National Assembly New Media Forum on Wednesday, Gwalabe highlighted that the budget’s total of 47.9 trillion naira is significantly higher than the previous year’s, yet doubts remain about its successful implementation.
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He pointed out that Nigeria is currently running four budgets simultaneously, including the 2023 and 2024 budgets with their respective supplements. Gwalabe questioned how the government plans to manage these overlapping budgets and whether the promised “restoration” will truly benefit Nigerians.
He further criticized the rise in recurrent expenditure, stressing that without adequate funding, the budget’s impact on the common man will remain unclear.
Full Address
Well, my take is, if you look at the budget, today the president has presented a budget of 47.9 trillion, which is about 10 trillion higher than last year’s budget. Now, my main concern and my prayers for this budget are that, while he says it is a budget of restoration—perfect—and a budget of peace—agreed—my main concern is that the 2023 budget, up to now, has not been completed. We are running four budgets in one year. We are running the 2023 budget and its supplementary, as well as the 2024 budget and its supplementary.
The 2023 budget is set to lapse by December 31st of this year. The 2024 budget, which involves two budgets at the same time, will probably lapse in June, or they may extend it to December 2025. So, when will the 2025 budget lapse? That is my major concern. When will the common man feel the impact of this budget? When will the common man feel the impact of last year’s budget?
If you look at last year’s budget, yes, the capital expenditure was higher than ever before in Nigeria’s history. The recurrent expenditure was lower—less than 40%. But this 2025 budget indicates that 50% of the budget will go for capital expenditure, while 48% will go for recurrent expenditure. So, there is an increase in recurrent expenditure.
That is where I have a major question. I come from the opposition, and anyone who can say to Nigerians that the poor and the grassroots will benefit from this, I will support. But if you have plans, foresight, principles, and ideologies, and you cannot get the funding, then what happens? That is where my concern lies. My prayer is that the government will be able to raise the money to fund the remaining budgets—2024 and even 2025—or else that restoration they are talking about cannot happen.
Running multiple budgets in one year has never happened in Nigeria’s history. If you are running budgets concurrently, it’s difficult because funds may not be available. If funds arrive, you may need to inject them into the 2023 budget between now and the end of December. When new funds come, they will likely go toward the 2024 budget. But what happens to the 2025 budget? When will the money for this budget come? So, the idea of restoration is just political language, as far as I’m concerned.
So, as it stands, what is the honest and serious economic impact based on what has been proposed? You’ll have to wait and see. Wait for the implementation of the 2023 budget before December and assess it. Ask yourself, was there any relief for you? Then look at the 2024 budget and see when it will collapse. Is there any recipe for our people? Then, consider the budget brought today. If you haven’t performed on the 2023 and 2024 budgets, how will you perform on the 2025 budget? Isn’t it the same system used for generating money? If you don’t have the money, you will have problems.
Do you understand? The question is not only for me but for all Nigerians. Nigerians will have to decide. If in the 2023 budget they saw progress and in the 2024 budget they experienced benefits, then it’s up to Nigerians to answer that question.
In light of your conversation about having two or three multiple budgets running concurrently, what would you suggest differently as a solution? I initially objected to even shifting the expiry dates. If you extend the time limit for a budget, it overlaps into another year. This shows that the money is not there to fund the budget. If you are overlapping budgets, it means you don’t have the money to fund them. Even today, we are still running the 2023 budget. Last year, we ran Tinubu’s budget. Has it ended? No.
Sir, talking about accountability, don’t you think that lawmakers should hold people accountable? When you come from the opposition, even if you say something, they may not listen to you. I am from the opposition, and I have vehemently objected to these principles. It has never happened in Nigeria’s history to run four budgets in one year. Never.
On that note, can we say the legislature will be sincere to Nigerians? No, it’s not about the legislature. When he came into office, he knew he had a budget made by Buhari. When he came in, he withdrew the subsidy. His thinking was that by removing the subsidy and investing in the budget, the funds could be used to finance it. But unfortunately, after withdrawing the subsidy, the government realised that the total number of litres always imported and sold to Nigerians was 67 million litters per day. But after the subsidy was removed, they could only raise funds for 13 million liters. So, if you can close that gap, the government won’t have the funds to support the budget. And that’s what has happened.
