The Nigerian State House has budgeted N4.76 billion for the purchase of vehicles in 2025. Also, N25 billion has been allocated for the rehabilitation and repairs of office buildings in the State House.
These expenditures are contained in the N49.7tn appropriation bill titled ‘Budget of Restoration: Securing Peace, Rebuilding Prosperity’ presented to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday.
The allocations were listed under the capital expenditure for State House Headquarters, amounting to N33,553,683,463.
The president, vice president, and other top officials in the presidency have their offices inside the State House.
Under fixed assets purchase, N4,760,035,960 was allocated for the procurement of motor vehicles for the State House. N56,079,148 for purchase of office furniture and fittings, books and library equipment got N17,496,978, another N29,548,838 has been budgeted for the purchase of sporting and games equipment and N164,990,169 for the purchase of hello spare and maintenance.
Under the construction and provision of fixed assets, N1,830,783,061 was budgeted for the construction of office buildings.
Another N26,016,880,829 has been allocated for the rehabilitation and repairs of fixed assets, including residential buildings and offices in the State House in the coming year. The seat of power also budgeted N124,612,890 for wildlife conservation in 2025.
Other capital expenditures of the State House include: N528,091,477 for the acquisition of software and N25,164,113 for monitoring and evaluation.
The bogus State House’s planned expenditure comes as the proposed budget allocates N15.81 trillion (45% of total revenue) to debt servicing.
This amount surpasses the combined allocation of N14.97 trillion for four crucial sectors: security, infrastructure, education, and health.
This heavy debt burden has raised concerns among analysts, who fear that it’s severely limiting funding for essential areas. They emphasised the urgent need for the government to reduce debt servicing costs to effectively tackle critical national challenges, including insecurity, inadequate infrastructure, and deficiencies in education and healthcare.
The African most populous nation is also grappling with severe economic hardships. From skyrocketing inflation to an unrelenting foreign exchange crisis, the Nigerian economy has continued its downward spiral.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), inflation reached 34.60% in November, the highest in 28-year. Food inflation alone stood at 39.93%, making basic staples like rice, beans, and bread unaffordable for millions of families.
The naira’s freefall against the dollar has further compounded the woes of Nigeria’s struggling economy. Trading at N1,710 to $1 on the parallel market, the naira’s depreciation has made imports more expensive, further driving up prices.
Tinubu is projecting that inflation will decline to 15 percent in 2025 while the exchange rate will improve to N1,500/$1. The crude oil production will hit 2.06m barrels per day, according to the president.
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