•Finance minister, Wale Edun
The federal government has given insight into why it was exceeding revenue targets and still borrowing, telling the National Assembly that it did that based on the approvals of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
This was disclosed during an interactive session of federal government’s revenue generating agencies had with the Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East) led National Assembly’s joint Committees on Finance, Budget and National Planning on 2025-2027 Medium Term Expenditure Frame Work, MTEF, and Fiscal Strategy Paper, FSP, reports Vanguard.
At the one-day session that lasted over four hours in Room 231, Senate wing, the revenue generating agencies made their separate presentations on 2024 budget performance and revenue projections for N49.7 trillion 2025 budget.
Bagudu and Edun
Also responding, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, explained that the federal lawmakers should not forget that the borrowing plans contained in the N35.5 trillion 2024 budget were primarily meant to fund the deficit which is N9.7 trillion.
Bagudu said: “Despite revenue targets surpassing by some of the revenue generating agencies, government still needs to borrow for proper funding of the budget, particularly in the area of deficit and productivity for the poorest and most vulnerable.
“We have a long term development perspective plan agenda 2050 aiming at GDP per capital of $33,000.”
On his part, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, explained to the federal lawmakers that borrowing was still needed for proper funding of the budget despite increased revenues made by some agencies.
