President Bola Tinubu has asked the National Assembly to increase the 2025 budget from N49.7 trillion to N54.2 trillion, citing the availability of additional revenue as the reason for the development.

The president requested this in a letter forwarded and read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during the plenary session on Wednesday.

The President noted that the increase was necessitated due to more revenue that has been generated by some revenue-generating agencies of the Federal Government, including the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), among others, in 2024.

President Tinubu also added that the FIRS generated an extra N1.4 trillion. NCS contributed $1.2 trillion, and other agencies collectively generated $1.8 trillion.

“I am writing to inform you of the availability of additional revenue amounting to 4.5 trillion naira and to propose its allocation within the 2025 appropriation bill to enhance the budget’s responsiveness to the nation’s most pressing priorities and aspirations,” the letter said.

President Tinubu further explained that the additional increase to the budget will provide an opportunity for the government to address Nigeria’s critical economic challenges.

“This additional revenue sourced from key agencies represents a pivotal opportunity to address Nigeria’s critical challenges and advance its development agenda,” the letter reads.

After reading the letter, the Senate President directed the Senate Appropriations Committee to address the request and consider its implementations, noting that the lawmakers would hasten the process of approving the budget.

Recall that in December 2024, President Tinubu presented N47.9 trillion as the 2025 annual budget to a joint session of the National Assembly.

Titled the “Budget of Restoration,” President Bola Tinubu addressed the joint session of the national assembly, emphasising the country’s economic reform and transformation.

Following the president’s presentation, the National Assembly invited ministries, departments, and agencies to defend their budgets and justify their spending in the next fiscal year.

During defence sessions, the lawmakers raised concerns over the misappropriation and mismanagement of funds discovered in their expenditures. The lawmakers also alleged that the inability of some MDAs to defend themselves in 2024 was an extravagant act.

This development has attracted criticism from stakeholders and civil society organisations who are demanding more transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s governing systems and agencies.