House Appropriations Committee Chairman Justifies N1.2 Trillion Budget Increase For 2024

The N1.2 trillion increase in the N26.5 trillion 2024 budget, according to Nigeria’s House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Chairman, Hon. Abubakar Bichi, was brought about by potential inflation and increased revenue prospects from government-owned enterprises.

Following the approval of the 2024 budget estimates, the Committee Chairman addressed reporters at the National Assembly Complex and mentioned inflation and the country’s dollar exchange rate, saying, “The executive proposed N750 to the dollar, but after we studied carefully, we looked at it and we know it is unrealistic.”

“We decided to raise it to N800. We met with government-owned enterprises as well, and we feel that their submissions are insufficient. They have committed to raising their earnings to N700 billion. That is how we managed to obtain the N1.2 trillion that we used for capital.

For the first time, the capital exceeds the recurrent amount. We allocated N850 billion or so to education. We sent them large sums of money. I think this budget is excellent, and Nigerians will benefit greatly.”