The Federal Government may likely ask the National Assembly for additional appropriation of revenue if the country experiences robust revenue performance in the coming year.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, made this disclosure on Monday during his appearance before the Senate Committee on Finance to defend the budget of his ministry.
Edun affirmed the government’s reliance on savings to enhance fund availability for the 2024 budget, while hinting at the possibility of a budget increase.
The Senate, during the session, urged the finance minister to address delays in budget implementation and remove associated bottlenecks.
Sani Musa, the Chairman of the Senate Committee, expressed concerns over the government’s slow progress in implementing the 2023 supplementary budget.
President Bola Tinubu had presented the 2024 budget estimates of N27.5 trillion on November 29, 2023, to the National Assembly.
Breaking down the budget estimates, President Tinubu allocated N9.92 trillion for recurrent non-debt expenditure, N8.73 trillion for capital expenditure, N8.25 trillion for debt service, N18.32 trillion for revenue, N7.83 trillion for new borrowings, and N9.18 trillion for the deficit.
The President also projected a 3.76% growth in the economy and expected inflation to moderate to 21.4% in 2024.