Experts in the social and economic sectors have advocated proactive financial regulatory measures to ensure probity and accountability in implementing the 2025 budget.
The experts, including economists, academics, public administrators, and entrepreneurs, spoke in Bauchi, Dutse, and Gombe to react to President Bola Tinubu’s presentation of the 2025 budget to the National Assembly.
They said the measure was imperative to stimulate successful implementation of development programmes outlined in the proposed estimate.
Tinubu on Wednesday presented a proposed N47.96trn government expenditure for the 2025 fiscal year.
The budget allocations included N4.91trn for defence and security, N4.06trn for infrastructure, N2.48 trillion for health, and N3.52 trillion for education.
The budget seeks to restore macroeconomic stability, enhance the business environment, foster inclusive growth, employment, and poverty reduction, and promote equitable income distribution and human capital development.
Mr Abubakar Garba, a Bauchi-based entrepreneur, said the proposed estimate marked a significant milestone in Tinubu’s effort to drive economic growth and development in Nigeria.
He said the budget clearly indicated the President’s commitment towards revamping Nigeria’s economy.
Dr Adamu Hassan, a lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic Bauchi, said the budget would benefit Nigerians.
“The proposed budget allocation to key sectors such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure development will go a long way in addressing the developmental challenges facing our country,” he said.
He said the government also planned to drive inflation down from 34.6 percent to 15 percent, improve the exchange rate from approximately N1,700 to N1,500 per U.S. dollar, and increase crude oil production to 2.06 million barrels per day.
According to Hassan, the Tinubu administration’s reforms are beginning to yield positive results, boosting Nigerian society’s social and economic fabric.
Also, Mr Gad Daniel, Executive Director of Maltex Development Initiative, expressed optimism over the increased budgetary allocation to defence, adding that it would address the country’s insecurity.
He said the improved allocation for infrastructure development would create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
A farmer, Kabiru Musa, commended Tinubu’s proposed farmer support programme for the coming year and called for measures to guard against the diversion of fertilisers and inputs.
Musa noted that the administration’s efforts in food security would not be achieved without addressing the issue of inputs not getting to the genuine farmers.
Corroborating Musa, a female farmer, Jane Ayuba said strict monitoring mechanisms would prevent middlemen from diverting inputs meant for farmers, especially fertilisers and agrochemicals.
She urged the Federal Government to adopt multi-crop support instead of the usual rice, wheat, maize, and sorghum support.
“The issue of funding and input support to farmers is a good policy statement if there is a political will to push it to fruition. Many people have embraced agriculture, but insecurity has driven them away from their farmlands.
“If there’ll be support in subsidised farm inputs, fertiliser, that’ll be a great boost to agriculture as more people will leverage the advantage to increase productivity,” she said.
Similarly, Williams Attah, a journalist in Gombe, said the government’s focus on tackling insecurity would encourage more farmers to return to their farmlands.
He called for proactive measures to address insecurity preventing farmers from carrying out their activities, especially farmer/herder clashes.
However, Ahmad Balarabe, a resident of Dutse, said that effective monitoring and regulatory financial framework were necessary to guide the implementation of the budget.
He said this would ensure budget tracking and policy implementation to stimulate the sustainable social and economic development outlined in the proposed budget.
He said the increased allocation to security and social sectors would enhance access to quality education and healthcare service delivery, improving the overall wellbeing of the citizens.
Zulkiflu Muhammad and Mrs Zainab Ahmad also contributed. They urged the government to ensure that all public schools, including tertiary institutions, work optimally, considering the huge allocation to these sectors.
