Gbaja: 2025 budget for agencies under presidency will be on needs assessment

Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, says the budget for government agencies under the presidency will be on a needs assessment basis.

Gbajabiamila spoke with reporters on Wednesday in Abuja after touring agencies that directly report to the presidency.

He was accompanied on the tour by Ibrahim Hadeija, deputy chief of staff, and Olufunso Adebiyi, permanent secretary of the Aso Rock villa, among others.

Some of the agencies under the state house are the Nigeria Agriculture and Land Development Agency (NALDA), Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC), and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).

The chief of staff said resources are limited and must be allocated to these agencies based on actual requirements.

“In any country in the world, resources are limited. For us it is about prioritising,” the former speaker of the house of representatives said.

“Where are we so far? What have the agencies done? How have they measured up to their mandates and how important are their mandates in terms of the vision of this administration and the Renewed Hope Agenda?

“A lot of agencies are not properly funded. Do we merge some of these agencies, do we scrap some?

“In 2025 we are not going to budget in a vacuum. We will budget based on needs assessment.”

At NALDA, the chief of staff said the Tinubu administration is committed to diversifying the economy in which agriculture has a major role to play.

“This government is particular about diversifying our economy and the role the agriculture sector has to play is very important,” he said.

“This government is focusing very seriously on agriculture and food security and we trust that NALDA will continue to be innovative in its operations, including developing greenhouses and supporting the cultivation of more arable land across the country.”

While visiting the NAEC office, Gbajabiamila reiterated the federal government’s commitment to developing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes such as electricity generation.