Tajudeen Abbas: We’ll diligently scrutinise 2024 budget proposal

Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house of representatives, says the proposed 2024 budget will be “diligently scrutinised” by the parliament.

Speaking on Wednesday when President Bola Tinubu presented the N27 trillion proposed 2024 budget to the national assembly, Abbas said the appropriation bill would be “thoroughly” examined.

The speaker said while the lawmakers would give the budget an “accelerated consideration”, they would ensure that each ministerial component meets the needs of Nigerians.

“We will give this bill the utmost priority it deserves,” Abbas said.

“While we would give it accelerated consideration, we will diligently scrutinise it alongside Nigerians to ensure that when it is passed, it will be a budget that best addresses the most critical needs of our people.

“We shall thoroughly examine various aspects of the budget proposals, including economic feasibility, allocation and utilisation of funds and sustainability of proposed fiscal policies.

“This is essential for maintaining checks and balances, and ensuring that government spending aligns with national priorities and is conducted transparently and efficiently.”

Abbas sought the cooperation of the heads of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), especially, during the budget defence by committees.

He asked all stakeholders to attend the national summit that would be convened for the budget with a “sense of purpose and commitment to national development”.

The speaker said the next couple of weeks would be “tough and demanding” for the lawmakers as they would be busy carrying out legislative work on the budget.

“We must ensure that the budget when finally passed, meets the expectations of the people we represent,” he said.

“We must equally follow through the implementation process through our various oversight engagements.”

He said due to the challenge of a high level of public debt, the national assembly would ensure that the 2024 budget includes concrete strategies for sustainable debt management, including measures to increase revenue and control expenditure.

“Specifically, the focus should be on raising more revenue through tax reform, fiscal reform, subsidy reform, foreign exchange convergence, and centralised revenue collection,” he said.