President Bola Tinubu missed an opportunity to tell Nigerians how his government intends to cut the cost of governance as he presented his first Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly.

Development Diaries reports that Tinubu presented the 2024 budget estimates of N27.5 trillion to the lawmakers, highlighting priority areas such as security, local job creation, human capital development, poverty reduction, and social security.

According to the Nigerian leader, the ‘Budget of Renewed Hope’ will ensure micro-economic stability, poverty reduction, greater access to social security, amongst others.

The president said that the federal government is targeting an N18.32 trillion revenue generation to fund the budget, leaving the projected budget deficit at N9.18 trillion.

The recurrent expenditure in the bill is set to gulp N9.92 trillion, while capital expenditure is N8.7 trillion.

Nigeria is grappling with significant socio-economic challenges, with millions of citizens living in poverty, lacking access to basic necessities, and struggling to make ends meet.

The country spends very little on infrastructural development. Therefore, to free up more funds for development, the country’s cost of governance has to be significantly cut.

According to the World Bank 2022 Public Expenditure Review report, Nigeria is ranked among countries with the lowest human development index in the world, with a rank of 167 among 174 globally.

The report also noted that, at the current rate of expenditure allocations, it would take the country 300 years to close its current infrastructure gap.

We commend the president’s plans for local job creation, human capital development, poverty reduction, and social security, considering the hardship that millions of Nigerians, including poor and vulnerable groups, are enduring as a result of the subsidy removal.

However, President Tinubu, who has on several occasions called on struggling Nigerians to endure the hardship, was silent on the high cost of running the presidency.

While Development Diaries calls on the National Assembly to critically review the budget proposal to ensure that it captures the overall interest of the Nigerian people, we call on the president to lead by example by reducing the presidency’s budget.

Photo source: Femi Gbajabiamila