He went on to highlight both the focus and structure of the budget, which he said is aimed at giving hope to ordinary Nigerians.

Tinubu added: “In my address then, I remarked that the budget is a Budget of Renewed Hope. It is anchored on reducing the deficit and increasing capital expenditure, particularly in our priority areas.

“The 2024 Budget that we just approved achieves both objectives. It contains a very good increase in the capital side, a reduction in recurrent expenditure and it brought down the deficit from 6.11 per cent to 3.88 per cent. That, to me, is an achievement.

“When you pay attention to education, health and road infrastructure, you are resuscitating the economy and making sure that the ordinary people are carried along.

“One of the priority areas we just passed is the N100billion provision for the feeding of school children, which will encourage our school attendance and others.

“I’ll be meeting with local governments at sub-national levels so that we can collaborate and jointly bring an all-inclusive programme that will help.”

The top priorities in the budget are defence and internal security, job creation, macroeconomic stability, improved investment environment, human capital development, poverty reduction, and social security.

The President emphasised his commitment to enhancing investment promotion while creating a rules-based society that favours no individual over the law.

“Statutory transfer to the Judiciary has been increased from N165 billion to N342 billion.”

Speaking on how the budget will be funded, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, said the government plans to rely more on generated revenues than on borrowing.

He Said: “The First Thing To Say Is That It’s A Lower Budget Deficit, So It’s A Lower Financing Requirement And, As A Percentage Of GDP, The Budget Deficit Is Down From 6.1% To 3.8%.

“We’re relying less on borrowing and more on revenue and I think you have to take the two together. I think we’re very optimistic about the improvements in revenue that will take place.

“We are all ready, even from tomorrow, applying technology and digitalisation to ensure that the revenue that should come to government from all sources, including from government-owned enterprises, comes into the consolidated revenue fund and on the other side, we are bringing order to government borrowing.

“Ways and Means is being eliminated by taking the funding that is required from the market, as opposed to the printing of money by the Central Bank.

“That, in a nutshell, is what is happening on the financing side. We are very optimistic that not only will this budget be funded adequately, but it will be funded on a timely basis as well.”

Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, said the budget went through a thorough process.

The minister said: “There’s nothing like being in a hurry. This shows that people are on their toes. Mr. President had experience as a member of the National Assembly, he had experience as a governor and then luckily for us as a country, now he’s sitting atop the affairs as President.

“Committees are supposed to be working, it’s not when you are passing a budget that committees should know the priorities of the relevant sectors.

“Mr. President, ever since he was sworn in, left no one in doubt that look, ‘I want you to respect institutions; as ministers, respect National Assembly’. They work well with the committees.

“The oversight is respected, we welcome interrogation. He said so publicly. Even before the budget process started

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who addressed State House Correspondents after witnessing the signing, said the legislature will be working closely with the executive to monitor implementation, given the President’s earlier directive.

“With that directive from the President, ours is to monitor what goes on to ensure that, indeed, it is one thing to do a budget; it is another thing for the budget to be fully implemented.”

He also defended the adjustment of the N27.5 trillion bill proposed last November to N28. 78 trillion, saying the lawmakers had “very verifiable justifications” to do what they did.

House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas told reporters that the 2024 Budget was not the only legislation assented to yesterday by the president.

Abbas said that Tinubu also signed the 2023 Supplementary Budget – which will now run until March 31. Another bill is on the securitisation of the controversial Ways and Means.

He explained: “Mr. President has signed two other bills. The first one is the supplementary appropriation bill of 2023, which he has agreed to extend by 90 days. So, it will continue to work concurrently with the 2024 budget up to March 31.

“He has also approved the 2023 main budget to concurrently operate with the capital component of the 2024 budget up to March 31.

“Another landmark achievement we had was also approving the securitisation of the ways and means that have effectively brought to an end these controversial means and ways of borrowing money. And he has assured Nigerians that this will be the last of this kind of ugly incident”, Abbas said.