Three days after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, it cleared the second reading in the Senate, despite concerns from lawmakers about limited budgetary details and low funding for critical sectors. Senators voiced dissatisfaction with allocations for power, education, and exchange rate assumptions, sparking debate over the bill’s priorities.

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe criticized the 3% budget allocation for the power sector, arguing that insufficient funding undermines essential infrastructure that supports job creation and economic stability. He warned that without adequate power, the country’s development goals would falter, saying, “Power is fundamental. How do we generate jobs if there is no power? I think we need to reorder the budget.”

Former Senate President Ahmad Lawan supported Abaribe’s stance, emphasizing that stable power is crucial to the national economy. Similarly, Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro questioned the 7% allocation for education, deeming it inadequate against UNESCO’s recommended 26% benchmark. “Our children are leaving for education abroad,” Moro noted, urging the government to address the shortfall and improve local educational standards to curb this trend.

UNESCO’s Education for All Report (2000–2015) advocates for national governments to allocate between 15% and 20% of the budget to education, or 4% to 6% of Gross National Product (GNP). However, Nigeria’s current 7% allocation falls well below these recommendations, raising concerns about underfunded educational infrastructure and strained academic institutions.

Senators Amos Yohanna and Adams Oshiomhole also debated the budget’s pegged exchange rate of N750 per dollar. Yohanna argued that disparities between official and parallel market rates create policy inconsistencies, while Oshiomhole countered, asserting that exchange rates fall under macroeconomic policy rather than legislative oversight. “Exchange rate isn’t a matter for Parliament to debate,” he stated, advocating a production-centered economic approach to reduce reliance on imports.

Additional calls for fiscal accountability came from Senator Francis Fadahunsi, who urged the government to restore funds redirected from capital projects in the 2023 Supplementary Budget for palliative measures back to their original allocations in the 2024 budget. This would ensure that critical projects are not sidelined, especially as new budgetary provisions are considered.

In closing, Ahmad Lawan appealed to his colleagues to maintain strong oversight on security funds, affirming support for the administration’s efforts to improve national security while stressing the importance of tracking expenditures to ensure targeted results.