The Federal Government is projecting a sum of N26 trillion as the estimate for the 2024 appropriation budget.
The Minister of Planning and Budget, Atiku Bagudu, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday, October 16.
Joined by his colleagues from the Ministry of Information, Mohammed Idris; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, Works and Housing, Dave Umahi; Industry, Trade, and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite; and Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, Bagudu said the council has approved the 2024–2026 medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) and fiscal strategy papers (FSP).
The Federal Government plans to spend 61.63 per cent of its planned 2024 on personnel and debt service costs.
The personnel and pension costs of N7.78tn and the debt service cost of N8.25tn make up N16.03tn out of the N26.01tn 2024 budget.
idanNews observed that the government would spend more on debt servicing than it would spend on paying the salaries and pensions of its workers.
Also, the amount budgeted for personnel and pension costs is expected to increase from N5.87tn in 2023 to N7.78tn in the 2024 budget.
According to the Washington-based bank, this was the first time the Federal Government’s personnel costs and debt servicing surpassed its total revenue.
The bank added that due to this, spending on capital expenditures weakened.