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FULL TEXT: President Tinubu’s 2025 Budget Speech at National Assembly on December 18, 2024
PRESENTATION BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU, GCFR
OF
THE 2025 BUDGET OF RESTORATION: SECURING PEACE, REBUILDING PROSPERITY
TO
A JOINT SESSION OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ON WEDNESDAY 18TH DECEMBER, 2024
PROTOCOLS:
— The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima
— Senate President, Distinguished Senator Godswill Akpabio
— Right Honourable Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas
— National Chairman of our great party, Excellency, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje
— State Governors here present
— Distinguished Leaders and Members of the National Assembly
— Senior Government Officials here present
— Gentlemen of the press,
My Fellow Nigerians,
1. In fulfilment of one of my constitutional duties and with unyielding commitment to rebuilding Nigeria towards ensuring that we remain steadfast on the journey to a prosperous future, I hereby present the 2025 Budget to the Joint Session of the 10th National Assembly.
2. On this day, before this hallowed chamber, I present to you the 2025 Budget at a time when our country is at a crucial point in its development trajectory.
3. The 2025 Budget Proposal again reinforces our administration’s roadmap to secure peace, prosperity, and hope for a greater future for our beloved nation. This budget christened, “Budget of Restoration: Securing Peace, Rebuilding Prosperity,” strikes at the very core of our Renewed Hope Agenda and demonstrates our commitment to stabilizing the economy, improving lives, and repositioning our country for greater performance.
4. The journey of economic renewal and institutional development, which we began 18 months ago as a nation, is very much underway. It is not a journey of our choosing but one we had to embark on for Nigeria to have a real chance at greatness. I thank every Nigerian for embarking on this journey of REFORMS and TRANSFORMATION with us.
5. The road of reforms is now clearly upon us, and as the President of this blessed nation, I know this less-travelled road has not been easy. That there have been difficulties and sacrifices. They will not be in vain. And we must keep faith with the process to arrive at our collectively desired destination.
6. We must build on the progress we have made in the past eighteen months in restructuring our economy and ensuring it is strong enough to withstand the headwinds of any future shocks of the global downturn.
7. The 2025 budget that I present today is one of restoration. It seeks to consolidate the key policies we have instituted to restructure our economy, boost human capital development, increase the volume of trade and investments, bolster oil and gas production, get our manufacturing sector humming again and ultimately increase the competitiveness of our economy.
8. We do not intend to depart from this critical path to strengthen the Nigerian economy. Just as I believe in the resilience of our economy to withstand the current challenges, I also strongly believe in the resilience of the Nigerian people. Again, I summon the unstoppable Nigerian spirit to lead us on as we work to rebuild the fabric of our economy and existence.
9. The improvements we witnessed in the 2024 budget have led us into the 2025 budget. The goals of advancing national security, creating economic opportunities, investing in our youthful population, infrastructure development, and national re-orientation form the core of the 2025 budget. But more than that, this will lay a solid foundation for Nigeria’s future growth trajectory.
CURRENT ECONOMIC REALITIES AND PROGRESS
10. Distinguished Senate President, Right Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives, leaders and members of both Chambers of the National Assembly, I report today that our economy is responding positively to stimulus. Our objective is to further stimulate the economy through the implementation of targeted fiscal stimulus packages through public expenditures and specific non-inflationary spending.
11. The reforms we have instituted are beginning to yield results. Nigerians will soon experience a better and more functional economy.
12. Global economic growth for the outgoing year 2024 was projected at 3.2 percent, and against predictions, our country made significant progress.
o Our economy grew by 3.46 percent in the third quarter of 2024, up from 2.54 percent in the third quarter of 2023.
o Our Foreign Reserves now stand at nearly 42 billion US dollars, providing a robust buffer against external shocks.
o Our rising exports are reflected in the current trade surplus, which now stands at 5.8 trillion naira, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
13. These clear results of gradual recovery, among others, reflect the resilience of our economy and the impact of deliberate policy choices we made from the outset.
2024 BUDGET PERFORMANCE
14. I am happy to inform this National Assembly that our administration attained remarkable milestones in implementing the 2024 Budget. In 2024, we achieved:
o 14.55 trillion naira in revenue, meeting 75 percent of our target as of the third quarter.
o 21.60 trillion naira in expenditure, representing 85 percent of our target, also in the third quarter.
15. While challenges persist, we improved revenue collection and fulfilled key obligations. The transformational effects of this on our economy are gradually being felt.
PHILOSOPHY OF THE 2025 BUDGET
16. The 2025 Budget seeks to:
o Restore macroeconomic stability.
o Enhance the business environment.
o Foster inclusive growth, employment, and poverty reduction.
o Promote equitable income distribution and human capital development.
17. Our budgetary allocations reflect the administration’s strategic priorities, especially in the implementation of the Renewed Hope Agenda and its developmental objectives.
2025 BUDGET OVERVIEW
18. The numbers for our 2025 budget proposal tell a bold and exciting story of the direction we are taking to retool and revamp the socio-economic fabric of our society.
o In 2025, we are targeting 34.82 trillion naira in revenue to fund the budget.
o Government expenditure in the same year is projected to be 47.90 trillion naira, including 15.81 trillion naira for debt servicing.
o A total of 13.08 trillion naira, or 3.89 percent of GDP, will make up the budget deficit.
19. This is an ambitious but necessary budget to secure our future.
20. The Budget projects inflation will decline from the current rate of 34.6 percent to 15 percent next year, while the exchange rate will improve from approximately 1,700 naira per US dollar to 1,500 naira, and a base crude oil production assumption of 2.06 million barrels per day (mbpd).
21. These projections are based on the following observations:
o Reduced importation of petroleum products alongside increased export of finished petroleum products.
o Bumper harvests, driven by enhanced security, reducing reliance on food imports.
o Increased foreign exchange inflows through Foreign Portfolio Investments.
o Higher crude oil output and exports, coupled with a substantial reduction in upstream oil and gas production costs.
KEY PRIORITIES: REBUILDING NIGERIA
22. Our budgetary allocations underscore this administration’s strategic priorities, particularly in advancing the Renewed Hope Agenda and achieving its developmental objectives.
23. Highlights of the 2025 Budget Allocations:
• Defence and Security: N4.91 trillion
• Infrastructure: N4.06 trillion
• Health: N2.48 trillion
• Education: N3.52 trillion
24. As we embark on implementing the 2025 Budget, our steps are deliberate, our decisions resolute, and our priorities are clear. This budget reflects a renewed commitment to strengthening the foundation of a robust economy, while addressing critical sectors essential for the growth and development we envision.
Securing Our Nation:
25. Security is the foundation of all progress. We have significantly increased funding for the military, paramilitary, and police forces to secure the nation, protect our borders, and consolidate government control over every inch of our national territory. The government will continue to provide our security forces with the modern tools and technology they need to keep us safe. Boosting the morale of our men and women in the armed forces will remain our government’s top priority.
26. The officers, men, and women of our Armed Forces and the Nigerian Police Force are the shields and protectors of our nation. Our administration will continue to empower them to defeat insurgency, banditry, and all threats to our sovereignty. Our people should never live in fear—whether on their farmlands, highways or cities. By restoring peace, we restore productivity, revive businesses, and rebuild our communities.
Infrastructure Development:
27. When we launched the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund, it was with the conviction that infrastructure remains the backbone of every thriving economy. Under this programme, we are accelerating investments in energy, transport, and public works. By leveraging private capital, we hope to complete key projects that drive growth and create jobs. We have already embarked on key legacy projects: Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Sokoto-Badagry Highway, which will have a huge impact on the lives of our people and accelerate economic output.
Human Capital Development:
28. Our people are our greatest resource. That is why we are making record investments in education, healthcare, and social services:
o Our administration has so far disbursed 34 billion naira to over 300,000 students via the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND). In the 2025 Budget, we have made provision for 826.90 billion naira for infrastructure development in the educational sector. This provision also includes those for the Universal Basic Education (UBEC) and the nine new higher educational institutions.
o We are convinced that Universal Health Coverage initiatives will strengthen primary healthcare systems across Nigeria. In this way, we have allocated 402 billion naira for infrastructure investments in the health sector in the 2025 Budget and another 282.65 billion naira for the Basic Health Care Fund. Our hospitals will be revitalised with medication and better resources, ensuring quality care for all Nigerians. This is consistent with the Federal Government’s planned procurement of essential drugs for distribution to public healthcare facilities nationwide, improving healthcare access and reducing medical import dependency.
Revitalizing Agriculture:
29. Increasing agricultural production is central to our food security agenda, but insecurity has crippled this vital sector. We are supporting our farmers with funding and inputs to reignite productivity. Food security is non-negotiable. In this regard, we are taking bold steps to ensure that every Nigerian can feed conveniently, and none of our citizens will have to go to bed hungry.
30. Distinguished Senate President, Right Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives, leaders and members of both Chambers of the National Assembly and fellow Nigerians, our 2025 budget proposal is not just another statement on projected government revenue and expenditures. It is one that calls for action.
31. Our nation faces existential threats from corruption and insecurity and suffers from many past poor choices. These challenges are surmountable when we work collaboratively to overcome them. We must rewrite the narrative of this nation together, with every leader, institution, and citizen playing their part.
32. The time for lamentation is over. This is a time to act. A time to support and promote greater investment in the private sector. A time for our civil servants to faithfully execute our policies and programmes. It is a time for every Nigerian to look hopefully towards a brighter future because a new day has dawned for us as a nation.
33. As your President, I remain committed and resolute to continue to lead the charge.
34. This 2025 budget proposal lays the foundation for peace, prosperity, and much needed hope. It is the plan through which a Nigeria where every citizen can dream, work, and thrive in safety can be achieved.
35. It is with great pleasure, therefore, that I lay before this distinguished Joint Session of the National Assembly the 2025 Budget of the Federal Government of Nigeria titled “The Restoration Budget: Securing Peace, Rebuilding Prosperity.
36. May God bless our Armed Forces and keep them safe. May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Thank you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR
President, Commander-in-Chief of The Armed Forces,
Federal Republic of Nigeria
The Senate has called on the federal government to discontinue the rehabilitation programme for repentant Boko Haram members following the abduction and killing of military officers.
The decision followed the adoption of an additional prayer on Tuesday during deliberations on the country’s security situation.
The prayer, proposed by Joseph Ikpea, senator representing Edo Central, was adopted through a voice vote during consideration of a motion on the escalating attacks, abductions and killings of serving and retired military personnel.
Supporting the proposal, Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo North, said: “It does not make even common sense to grant pardon and rehabilitate criminals”.
The motion, sponsored by Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, Senator representing Katsina Central and Chairman, Senate Committee on the Nigerian Army, was prompted by the abduction and death of Rabe Abubakar, a retired Major General and former Director of Defence Information.
Abubakar died in captivity after he was kidnapped alongside his wife in Katsina State.
Leading the debate during Tuesday’s plenary, Yar’Adua described the country’s security situation as a “national emergency”.
He said insecurity had assumed “increasingly complex, persistent and alarming dimensions”, manifesting through terrorism, insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, violent attacks on communities and the destruction of livelihoods across several parts of the country.
“The death of the retired Major General and others in the custody of terrorists represents not only personal tragedies but also a painful national loss and a stark reminder of the scale and persistence of insecurity confronting the nation,” he said.
Yar’Adua said terrorists had become increasingly sophisticated and emboldened, extending their attacks beyond civilian communities to serving and retired military officers.
“The increasing frequency with which serving and retired military personnel are being targeted by criminal and terrorist groups represents a dangerous evolution in the nation’s security challenges,” he said.
The senator warned that attacks on current and former military personnel undermine the morale of security agencies, weaken public confidence in the state’s ability to provide security and embolden criminal groups.
He listed a series of attacks on senior military officers, including the abduction of Rabiu Garba Yandoto, a retired colonel, in Zamfara in January 2023; the kidnap and killing of Richard Duru, retired major general, in Imo in September 2023 despite the payment of ransom; the murder of Uwem Udokwere, retired brigadier general, in Abuja in June 2024; the abduction of Maharazu Tsiga, former NYSC director-general, in Katsina in February 2025; the death of Joe Ajayi, a retired major, in captivity in Kogi in May 2025; the abduction and rescue of Joseph Ajanaku, a retired colonel, in Plateau in January 2026.
’PERPETRATORS MUST BE ARRESTED’
Seconding the motion, Osita Izunaso, Senator representing Imo West, urged security agencies to ensure those responsible for the attacks were arrested.
“We have to mandate them to ensure that these people are arrested because we are all following the incident. The perpetrators must be arrested and brought to book,” he said.
Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro, said insecurity had made travelling unsafe even for public office holders.
“It’s becoming increasingly dangerous for people, even like us who are protected by the government, to move around the roads these days,” Moro said.
He recounted the killing of a professor near a police checkpoint in Benue State.
“They just shot him dead right there, very close to a police checkpoint. If people can conveniently be killed like that, then it becomes increasingly scary that we are all walking corpses,” he said.
Moro urged the Senate leadership to meet with President Bola Tinubu to brief him on lawmakers’ concerns over the security situation.
Senator representing Bauchi Central, Abdul Ningi, questioned why criminal groups were controlling parts of the country.
“Is this country at war? If we are not at war, why are non-government bodies controlling parts of this country?” Ningi asked.
He also called for an investigation into the number of security personnel killed across the country and the support available to their families.
Responding to the debate, the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, defended the efforts of the armed forces and other security agencies.
“Our men in uniform are doing their best. They are working very hard,” Barau said.
He added that terrorism and banditry had become regional challenges affecting several West African countries.
“The issue of banditry and terrorism has a global dimension. The entire West African region is confronted with this sad reality, from Mali to Burkina Faso, Niger and beyond,” he said.
OTHER RESOLUTIONS
The Senate also urged security and intelligence agencies to strengthen intelligence gathering, intelligence sharing, surveillance operations, threat assessment mechanisms and early warning systems.
Lawmakers called for deeper collaboration with local communities, traditional institutions and religious leaders to improve community-based intelligence and trust-driven security partnerships.
The upper legislative chamber further urged the federal government to accelerate the deployment of modern security technologies, including unmanned aerial systems, geospatial intelligence capabilities, integrated command and control platforms and advanced communications systems to combat terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.
Lawmakers also mandated the Senate leadership to constitute a delegation to visit the family of the late Abubakar, the Katsina state government and the Nigerian Army to convey the condolences of the Senate.
…insider sheds light on reason for his arrest
Professor Martin Aghaji, personal doctor to Nnamdi Kanu, has been arrested by Nigeria’s security operatives, Aloy Ejimakor, Mr Kanu’s lawyer said in an X post on Saturday.
Mr Kanu is the convicted leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). He is serving life imprisonment in Sokoto State after a federal high court in Abuja convicted him in November for terrorism.
Mr Ejimakor said in the X post that Mr Aghaji, a retired professor, was arrested at his residence in Enugu State on Friday.
The lawyer did not specifically say which operatives arrested the medical doctor, although he suggested that the arrest was connected to a medical report issued by the doctor on Mr Kanu which contradicted a similar report by the Department of State Security (DSS).
“This is the height of the official harassment he has been facing since he issued the medical report that did not comport with the SSS’s medical report on Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” Mr Ejimakor said.
How they arrested the medical doctor
In another post on Sunday evening, the lawyer claimed “the security operatives” stormed Mr Aghaji’s residence at about 3:00 a.m., violently pulled down his gate and forcibly gained entry” into the apartment.
“During the commotion, shots were fired. They’ve now taken him to Lagos,” he stated.
Release of the doctor
Mr Ejimakor, in a fresh post on Sunday night, announced that Mr Aghaji has been released from detention following the intervention of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and other bodies.
“While welcoming this development, the DSS is hereby admonished to do better than this,” he said, suggesting that the secret police earlier carried out the arrest.
DSS speaks
When contacted on Monday, the spokesperson of the DSS, Favour Dozie, confirmed the secret police indeed arrested Mr Aghaji from his residence in Enugu.
Ms Dozie, however, said the arrest was never linked to Mr Kanu or IPOB.
“He was arrested, but not in connection with Nnamdi Kanu,” she said, refusing to give details because the matter was under investigation.
The DSS spokesperson stressed that the retired professor’s arrest could not have been linked to Mr Kanu because the IPOB leader had already been convicted by a court and currently serving jail term.
She confirmed that Mr Aghaji was granted administrative bail and subsequently released to the NMA leadership in Lagos State on Sunday after providing a credible individual as his surety.
An official of the DSS later informed PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Aghaji’s arrest followed his alleged financial transactions to high-profile criminals under investigation.
“He was even sorry about it when he was informed of the transactions he made. The man himself felt very bad,” said the official who asked not to be named because he did not have permission to speak on the matter.
The father of Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi, who is facing criminal charges over alleged forgery and impersonation, was reportedly arrested by police operatives on Monday in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
Residents told journalists that the arrest took place at the family’s residence, where officers reportedly arrived in several vehicles before taking Adeniyi’s father and another man said to have been visiting the home into custody.
Witnesses said the operation drew the attention of residents and caused anxiety within the household, particularly for the suspect’s elderly mother.
A resident, who requested anonymity, alleged that the officers quickly secured the premises and left with the two men, while a security presence remained in the area for some time after the operation.
Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi is currently standing trial over allegations of forgery, impersonation and related offences arising from claims linked to the purported Presidential Fiscal and Infrastructure Projects Council.
The case is pending before the court.
As of the time of filing this report, the Oyo State Police Command had not issued an official statement confirming or explaining the reported arrests.
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