‘Revenue up 5% in Q3’ — Wale Edun says FG considering 2024 budget review

The federal government says if the country records a solid revenue performance, it will return to the national assembly for appropriation of extra revenue in 2024.

Wale Edun, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of economy, spoke when he appeared before the senate committee on finance, led by Sani Musa.

President Bola Tinubu had presented a N27.5 trillion budget proposal for 2024 to the national assembly about two weeks ago.

Speaking on the development, Edun said the revenue performance of the country is encouraging, adding that “it is expected to continue”.

“There is a fiscal policy and tax reform committee that is already at work,” Edun said. 

“It is meant to provide fundamental change together with digitalisation and greater efficiency in collection because it is revenue-to-debt that can allow us to increase this budget.

“If we have a solid revenue performance, we will come back, and I’m sure Mr President will authorize the process to return to the national assembly to appropriate extra revenue. That is a situation we are all looking forward to.”

FG had projected N16.87 trillion in revenue for 2023.

Edun said to boost capital spending in the budget 2024 budget, the federal government is seeking ways to expedite the procurement process.

“When we look at actual budget performance, expenditure as of the third quarter of the year, which is September, was 32 percent below the budget estimate, and revenue was five percent up,” he said.

“In the meantime, efforts have been made to raise tax revenue as a percentage of GDP from its relatively low figure of under 10 per cent, doubling now within two or three years to 18 per cent which is more than the African average, so that the government has enough money to spend, which it does not at the moment.”

Providing a breakdown of the budget, Atiku Bagudu, minister of budget and national planning, had said the projected national revenue in 2024 is estimated at N18.32 trillion — marking a substantial 66 percent increase compared to the previous year’s budget.