The federal government has said it will spend N8.25 trillion on debt servicing in the 2024 N27 trillion budget presented to the National Assembly on Wednesday, November 29th.
In his remark, President Bola Tinubu projected Nigeria’s economy to grow by 3.76 percent in a budget he described as “Budget for the Renewed Hope”.
The president expressed optimism that the budget will stabilise the country’s macro-economy, reduce the deficit, and increase capital spending to reflect the eight priority areas of his administration.
Tinubu added that a stable macroeconomic environment is important to catalyse private investment and accelerate economic growth.
“We have and shall continue to implement business and investment-friendly measures for sustainable growth.
“We expect the economy to grow by a minimum of 3.76 percent, above the forecasted world average. Inflation is expected to moderate to 21.4 percent in 2024”, he said.
In preparing the 2024 Budget, President Tinubu said his administration’s primary objective has been to sustain a robust foundation for sustainable economic development.
“A critical focus of this budget and the medium-term expenditure framework is Nigeria’s commitment to a greener future.
Last week, the Senate and the House of Representatives approved the 2024-2026 medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and fiscal strategy paper (FSP) — parameters on which the 2024 budget will be framed.
Speaking on the key parameters of the 2024 budget, Tinubu said the government has adopted “a conservative oil price benchmark of 96 US Dollars” per barrel and a daily oil production estimate of 1.78 million barrels per day.
This, according to the president, followed a careful review of developments in the global oil market and domestic conditions.
“We have also adopted a Naira to US Dollar exchange rate of 750 naira per US Dollar for 2024,” he said.
However, a recent report by the African Energy Chamber (AEC) showed that Nigeria’s daily crude production will fall below the 1.78 million barrel per day (bpd) approved by the National Assembly.
According to the AEC report, ‘The State of African Energy 2024 Outlook,’ Nigeria is expected to achieve daily crude oil output of 1.51 million bpd in 2024.
Nigeria is currently battling with a biting inflation of 27.33 percent, the highest ever recorded in 18 years. Although, the President has announced several palliative schemes, many Nigerians are yet to have economic succour.
