COP28 Opens With ‘Historic’ Launch Of Loss And Damage Fund

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COP28 Opens With ‘Historic’ Launch Of Loss And Damage Fund

The talks in Dubai come at a pivotal moment for the planet, with emissions still rising and the UN on Thursday declaring 2023 on track to become the hottest year in human history.

Nearly 200 nations agreed Thursday to launch a fund to support countries hit by global warming, in a “historic” moment at the start of UN climate talks in the oil-rich UAE.

The announcement came as the Emirati host of the COP28 talks declared that fossil fuels must be part of any climate deal negotiated over the next two weeks.

The talks in Dubai come at a pivotal moment for the planet, with emissions still rising and the UN on Thursday declaring 2023 on track to become the hottest year in human history.

The formal establishment of the “loss and damage” fund long sought by climate-vulnerable nations provided an early win at COP28, where sharp divisions over the phasing out of fossil fuels were immediately apparent.

“We have delivered history today,” said COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber as delegates embraced and cheered.

Jaber said it was “the first time a decision has been adopted on day one of any COP and the speed in which we have done so is also unique, phenomenal and historic.

“This is evidence that we can deliver. COP28 can and will deliver,” he said.

Leaders have been urged to move more quickly to a clean energy future and make deeper cuts to emissions, with the world off-track to keep global temperature rises below agreed levels.

A central focus of COP28 will be a stocktake of the world’s limited progress on curbing global warming, which requires an official response at these talks.

Help our People’ 

Double the size of last year’s COP27, the conference is billed as the largest ever with 97,000 people, including Britain’s King Charles III and some 180 other heads of state and government expected to attend.

The UN and hosts the UAE say the talks will be the most important since Paris in 2015, and climate finance for poorer nations has been a key agenda item.

The UAE sees itself as a bridge between the rich developed nations most responsible for historic emissions and the rest of the world, which has contributed less to global warming but suffers its worst consequences.

The UAE announced $100 million toward the loss and damage fund with the European Union following with $246 million.

More pledges are expected in coming days, but the amounts fall well short of the $100 billion developing nations say are needed.

“The progress we’ve made in establishing a loss and damage fund is hugely significant for climate justice, but an empty fund can’t help our people,” warned Madeleine Diouf Sarr, chair of the Group of the 46 Least Developed Countries.

The 50-year-old Jaber is both COP president and head of UAE’s national oil giant, raising concerns over a conflict of interest amid calls for a phasedown of fossil fuels to be negotiated in Dubai.

On the eve of COP, Jaber was forced to deny that he used the COP presidency to pursue new fossil fuel deals, allegations first reported by the BBC.

In his opening address, Jaber told delegates they must “ensure the inclusion of the role of fossil fuels” in any final climate agreement and praised oil companies for coming to the table.

“They can lead the way. And then leading the way will ensure that others follow and catch up,” he said.

But UN climate chief Simon Stiell told the meeting: “If we do not signal the terminal decline of the fossil fuel era as we know it, we welcome our own terminal decline.”

And Pope Francis, who cancelled his trip to COP28 due to illness, urged participants to reject “the vested interests of certain countries or businesses”, in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Silence for Gaza

Finding a common position on the future of fossil fuels will be difficult at COP where all nations — whether dependent on oil, sinking beneath rising seas or locked in geopolitical rivalry — must take decisions unanimously.

The UAE hopes to marshal an agreement on the tripling of renewable energy and doubling the annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030.

Nations will navigate a range of thorny issues between November 30 and December 12, and experts say building trust could be a huge challenge.

At the opening of the conference, delegates paused for a minute’s silence for civilians killed in the Gaza conflict.

On the sidelines, Israeli President Isaac Herzog will hold talks with diplomats on the release of hostages held by Hamas, his office said.

Neither US President Joe Biden nor Chinese President Xi Jinping are attending, though Washington is sending Vice-President Kamala Harris.

But the US and China, the world’s two biggest polluters, did make a rare joint announcement on the climate this month that spurred optimism going into COP28.

Over 50 Bandits Killed In Taraba – Police

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Over 50 Bandits Killed In Taraba – Police

The bandits were neutralised by police operatives in collaboration with other security agencies.

No fewer than 50 suspected bandits terrorising communities across the Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State in what is a breakthrough in the fight against banditry. 

While the feat was achieved on Tuesday in the North-East state, the spokesman of the Taraba State Police Command Abdullahi Usman told Channels Television on Thursday that the bandits were killed by police operatives in collaboration with other security agencies.

He said the coordinated operation followed an outcry by locals which led to the ambush and killing of the bandits.

“Taraba State Police Command received information that some unknown gunmen suspected to be kidnappers in their hundreds invaded Tonti village under Maihula District Bali LGA Taraba State. The bandits invaded the village around 5:30hrs during the time that the Muslim faithful were saying their morning prayers, and started shooting sporadically".

“On receipt of information, the Commissioner of Police Taraba State Police Command Joseph Eribo ordered the deployment of a tactical team from Bali Division to the area in collaboration with the Army, vigilantes, and hunters. On arriving at the village, the bandits engaged the joint team in a gun duel.

“In the process, many of the bandits were subdued and neutralised due to the firing power of the operatives and others escaped with various degrees of injuries as a result of gunshots. Investigation revealed that over fifty of the bandits were neutralised.”

According to him, there is a manhunt in the area to arrest the fleeing bandits.

However, 12 locals were shot to death by the bandits before the arrival of the security personnel, the police spokesman added.

Already, police authorities in the state have deployed a special strike force to the area for robust patrol mainly to stem the tide of banditry in and around the place.

Taraba is among several states in northern and central Nigeria where bandit gangs operate, raiding villages, killing and abducting residents as well as burning and looting homes.

The criminals have been notorious for mass kidnappings of students from schools in recent years. Hundreds of thousands of people have also been displaced in rural areas in the northern and central parts of Nigeria, where bandit militias raid villages to loot and kidnap scores of residents to hold them for ransom in forest hideouts.

70-Year-Old Ugandan Woman Gives Birth To Twins

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70-Year-Old Ugandan Woman Gives Birth To Twins 

"At 70 years when I'm considered weak, unable to get pregnant and deliver, or look after a baby, and here is a miracle of the twins."

A Ugandan woman aged 70 has given birth to twins, her doctor said Thursday, in what the mother hailed as a miracle.

Safina Namukwaya described her joy at the arrival of the twins who were born on Wednesday at a medical facility in the capital Kampala, where she had received fertility treatment.

“This is extraordinary achievement, delivering twins to Africa’s oldest mother at 70 years,” Doctor Edward Tamale Sali, who supervised her pregnancy and delivery, told AFP.

He said mother and babies — a boy and a girl — were still in the care of the Women’s Hospital International and Fertility Centre that he founded, but were in good health.

“There is no way to express my joy at this moment,” said Namukwaya, who lives in the rural of Masaka about 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of Kampala.

“At 70 years when I’m considered weak, unable to get pregnant and deliver, or look after a baby, and here is a miracle of the twins,” she told AFP by phone.

Namukwaya said she previously gave birth to a girl in 2020, after being mocked as “cursed woman” who had previously failed to produce a child.

She said her first husband had died in 1992, leaving her without children, and she met her current partner in 1996.

But Namukwaya voiced dismay that her partner has not visited her since she came to the hospital for the delivery.

“Maybe he is not happy that I delivered twins because men don’t want to know you are carrying more than one child in a womb for fear of may be responsibilities that come with that.”

Source: Channel TV

Meet December Repair Deadline For Port Harcourt Refinery, Afenifere Urges FG

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Meet December Repair Deadline For Port Harcourt Refinery, Afenifere Urges FG 

Petroleum minister had in August pledged that the Port Harcourt refinery would be back on stream by December.

Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has urged the Federal Government to meet the December deadline for the operationalisation of the Port Harcourt Refinery.

The Pa Reuben Fasoranti-led group, in a statement after its meeting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, this week, said meeting the December deadline will cushion the biting effect of the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit also known as petroleum on Nigerians.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, had in August pledged that the Port Harcourt refinery would be back on stream by December

According to the minister, the measure was part of the government’s commitment to ending petroleum product importation.

With the removal of petrol subsidy in his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, the price per litre of petrol rose from N184 to over N600 in most parts of the country.

With the December deadline already here, Afenifere, in a statement signed by its spokesman, Jare Ajayi, urged the administration of President Bola Tinubu to meet the deadline.

Afenifere “urged the government to ensure that the deadlines given are adhered to”.

“For instance, the December deadline given for Port Harcourt Refinery to resume production should be met. This is to bring the cost of petroleum products down as the high costs of these products are contributing to the soaring prices of commodities and services in the country,” the statement partly read.

Day-Long Extension Of Israel-Hamas Truce Agreed

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Day-Long Extension Of Israel-Hamas Truce Agreed

The prime minister's office confirmed the extension, saying it had received a new list of hostages.

 

A truce between Israel and Hamas was extended on Thursday just before it was due to expire, the two sides announced, with mediator Qatar reporting it would continue for one day under the same conditions that saw hostages released in exchange for prisoners.

Minutes before the halt in fighting was due to expire at 0500 GMT, Israel’s military said the truce would be prolonged.

“In light of the mediators’ efforts to continue the process of releasing the hostages and subject to the terms of the framework, the operational pause will continue,” it said.

The prime minister’s office subsequently confirmed the extension, saying it had received a new list of hostages.

“A short time ago, Israel was given a list of women and children in accordance with the terms of the agreement, and therefore the truce will continue,” it said, without specifying the number of captives to be freed.

Hamas said there was an agreement to “extend the truce for a seventh day,” without further details.

It had earlier said Israel initially refused to extend the truce after it offered to hand over seven hostages and the bodies of three more.

Qatar, which has led the truce negotiations supported by Egypt and the United States, confirmed the pause had been extended for a day “under the same previous conditions.”

Blinken in Israel

The announcement came hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Wednesday night, and with growing pressure for an extension of the pause.

The truce agreement has brought a temporary halt to fighting that began on October 7 when Hamas militants broke through Gaza’s militarised border into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 240, according to Israeli authorities.

In response, Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas and unleashed a relentless air and ground military campaign that the Hamas government says has killed nearly 15,000 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, and reduced large parts of the north of the territory to rubble.

The truce agreement allows for extensions if Hamas can release another 10 hostages a day, but earlier both sides warned they were ready to return to fighting.

Hamas’s armed wing told its fighters to “maintain high military readiness… in anticipation of a resumption of combat if it is not renewed,” according to a message posted on its Telegram channel.

And Israeli army spokesman Doron Spielman said troops would “move into operational mode very quickly and continue with our targets in Gaza” if the truce expired.

Late Wednesday, 10 more Israeli hostages were freed under the terms of the deal, with another four Thai hostages and two Israeli-Russian women released outside the framework of the arrangement.

Video released by Hamas showed masked gunmen handing hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Among those freed was Liat Beinin, who also holds American citizenship, and works as a guide at Israel’s Holocaust museum Yad Vashem.

US President Joe Biden said he was “deeply gratified” by the release.

“This deal has delivered meaningful results,” he said of the truce.

‘Sustained humanitarian truce’

Shortly after the hostages arrived in Israel, the country’s prison service said 30 Palestinian prisoners had been released, including well-known activist Ahed Tamimi.

Since the truce began on November 24, 70 Israeli hostages have been freed in return for 210 Palestinian prisoners.

A number of foreigners, most of them Thais living in Israel, have been freed outside the terms of the deal.

Israel has made clear it sees the truce as a temporary halt intended to free hostages, but there are growing calls for a more sustained pause in fighting.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanded a “true humanitarian ceasefire”, warning Gazans are “in the midst of an epic humanitarian catastrophe.”

And China, whose top diplomat Wang Yi was in New York for UN Security Council talks on the violence, urged an immediate “sustained humanitarian truce”, in a position paper released Thursday.

The hostage releases have brought joy tinged with agony, with families anxiously waiting each night to learn if their loved ones will be freed, and learning harrowing details from those who return.

Four-year-old Abigail was captured after crawling out from under the body of her father, killed by militants, covered in his blood, her great aunt Liz Hirsh Naftali said.

“It’s a miracle,” she said of the little girl’s survival and release.

Israel’s army, however, also said Wednesday it was investigating a claim by Hamas’s armed wing that a 10-month-old baby hostage, his four-year-old brother and their mother had all been killed in an Israeli bombing in Gaza.

‘Everything is gone’

Israel pounded the Gaza Strip relentlessly before the truce, forcing an estimated 1.7 million people — around 80 percent of Gaza’s population — to leave their homes and limiting the entry of food, water, medicine and fuel.

Conditions in the territory remain “catastrophic”, according to the World Food Programme, and the population faces a “high risk of famine”.

Israeli forces targeted several hospitals in northern Gaza during the fighting, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes, a charge the militants denied.

The spokesman for the Hamas-ruled territory’s health ministry, Ashraf al-Qudra, told AFP Wednesday that doctors found five premature babies dead in Gaza City’s Al-Nasr hospital, which medical staff had been forced to abandon.

The truce has allowed those displaced to return to their homes, but for many there is little left.

“I discovered that my house had been completely destroyed — 27 years of my life to build it and everything is gone,” said Taghrid al-Najjar, 46, after returning to her home in southeastern Gaza.

The violence in Gaza has also raised tensions in the West Bank, where nearly 240 Palestinians have been killed by either Israeli soldiers or settlers since October 7, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

That figure exceeds the entire toll in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for all of last year when 235 people died, mostly Palestinians.

An eight-year-old boy and a teenager were the latest deaths in the occupied territory, with Israel saying it “responded with live fire” after suspects hurled explosive devices towards troops.

On Thursday a shooting in Jerusalem killed two people and wounded eight others before the suspects were “neutralised,” police said.

Nigerians Uninterested In Budgetary Arithmetic If Bread, Rice Prices Don’t Decrease — Rewane

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Nigerians Uninterested In Budgetary Arithmetic If Bread, Rice Prices Don’t Decrease — Rewane

The economist said Nigerians are under intense economic pressure, adding that the rate of poverty in the country is increasing mental health cases.

Renowned economist, Bismarck Rewane, says Nigerians are not interested in budgetary figures if the prices of basic commodities like rice, bread, and garri don’t go down.

Rewane, the Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, made this known on Thursday during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Business Morning show.

He said, “In the end, budgetary arithmetics, budgetary mathematics in economics is of no use to anybody except when by this time, six months’ time, if we are buying rice at N40,000 a bag rather than N60,000 a bag, if we are buying bread N900 a big loaf instead of N1,300 which we are doing today. If we are buying garri at lower prices.

“The people are not interested in whether the budget is balanced and what the debt is. How does it (the budget) affect their day-to-day livelihood? That is the key thing.”

At his maiden budget presentation before the National Assembly on Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu said the proposed N27.5trn 2024 budget will ensure micro-economic stability, poverty reduction, and greater access to social security, amongst others.

He highlighted priority areas such as security, local job creation, macro-economic stability, investment environment optimization, human capital development, poverty reduction, and social security.

Giving a breakdown of the budget estimates, the President fixed recurrent non-debit expenditure at N9.92trn, capital expenditure at N8.73trn, debt service at N8.25trn, revenue at N18.32trn, new borrowings at N7.83trn and deficit at N9.18trn.

‘Poverty Increasing Mental Health Issues’

Rewane, analysing the budget proposal, said in the final analysis, the people are not interested in figures but want to feel the impact of the government’s economic policies as many are under pressure.

“And as you know, prices are up and people are under tremendous pressure,” he said, adding that the rate of poverty in the country is driving people mad.

“You will notice that on the streets of Lagos in particular, the number of lunatics has increased and part of it is driven by poverty. Many mental health issues. People are pushed to the wall. Some of them walk across the road even in moving traffic.

“People need to feel the impact. the impact is not going to be felt because of 10 or 12% of GDP, that is N27trn; it has to be more. Where is the more going to come from? It’s going to come from investors and investors are going to come here when they are sure that their money is safe and the environment is clean, and they can look forward to a brighter future.”

The economist said the government must be honest with Nigerians on the economic realities, saying that “honesty is in short supply”.

According to him, people cannot start pretending to be happy. “You can fake news but you can’t fake prosperity,” he said.

FOR THE RECORD: President Bola Tinubu’s Maiden Budget Speech – Budget Of Renewed Hope

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FOR THE RECORD: President Bola Tinubu’s Maiden Budget Speech – Budget Of Renewed Hope

In furtherance of my sacred duties and obligations as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is my honour to be here today to present my administration’s 2024 Budget Proposal to this Joint Session of the 10th National Assembly. This moment is especially profound and significant to me because it is my first annual budgetary presentation to the National Assembly.

Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of the National Assembly, I commend your swift consideration and passage of the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bills and the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper. Your prompt action underscores your devotion to economic development and to the greater welfare of our people. It also highlights your desire to work in close collaboration with the Executive branch. We do not serve ourselves. We must always strive to work together to serve and benefit the people of our beloved country.

I am confident that the National Assembly will continue to work closely with us to ensure that deliberations on the 2024 Budget are thorough but also concluded with reasonable dispatch. Our goal is for the Appropriation Act to come into effect on the 1st of January 2024.

It is, by now, a matter of recorded history that my very first fiscal intervention as President of this great nation was to end the fuel subsidy regime which had proven to be so harmful to the overall health of our national economy. The second was to negotiate and subsequently present a supplementary budget to enable my government to fund the items needed to restore macro-economic stability and mitigate the harsh impact of subsidy removal.

In furtherance of my sacred duties and obligations as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is my honour to be here today to present my administration’s 2024 Budget Proposal to this Joint Session of the 10th National Assembly. This moment is especially profound and significant to me because it is my first annual budgetary presentation to the National Assembly.

Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of the National Assembly, I commend your swift consideration and passage of the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bills and the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper. Your prompt action underscores your devotion to economic development and to the greater welfare of our people. It also highlights your desire to work in close collaboration with the Executive branch. We do not serve ourselves. We must always strive to work together to serve and benefit the people of our beloved country.

I am confident that the National Assembly will continue to work closely with us to ensure that deliberations on the 2024 Budget are thorough but also concluded with reasonable dispatch. Our goal is for the Appropriation Act to come into effect on the 1st of January 2024.

It is, by now, a matter of recorded history that my very first fiscal intervention as President of this great nation was to end the fuel subsidy regime which had proven to be so harmful to the overall health of our national economy. The second was to negotiate and subsequently present a supplementary budget to enable my government to fund the items needed to restore macro-economic stability and mitigate the harsh impact of subsidy removal.

 

The third was to secure a second supplementary budget, this time to enable us to keep our promises to promote national security, invest in infrastructure and provide much needed support to the most vulnerable households in our society.

In swearing-in my cabinet and reflecting on the unique challenges facing us, I invited the Ministers to imagine that we are attempting to draw water from a dry well. Today, I stand before you to present our Budget of Renewed Hope; a budget which will go further than ever before in cementing macro-economic stability, reducing the deficit, increasing capital spending and allocation to reflect the eight priority areas of this Administration. The budget we now present constitutes the foundation upon which we shall erect the future of this great nation.

In furtherance of my sacred duties and obligations as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is my honour to be here today to present my administration’s 2024 Budget Proposal to this Joint Session of the 10th National Assembly. This moment is especially profound and significant to me because it is my first annual budgetary presentation to the National Assembly.

Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of the National Assembly, I commend your swift consideration and passage of the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bills and the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper. Your prompt action underscores your devotion to economic development and to the greater welfare of our people. It also highlights your desire to work in close collaboration with the Executive branch. We do not serve ourselves. We must always strive to work together to serve and benefit the people of our beloved country.

I am confident that the National Assembly will continue to work closely with us to ensure that deliberations on the 2024 Budget are thorough but also concluded with reasonable dispatch. Our goal is for the Appropriation Act to come into effect on the 1st of January 2024.

It is, by now, a matter of recorded history that my very first fiscal intervention as President of this great nation was to end the fuel subsidy regime which had proven to be so harmful to the overall health of our national economy. The second was to negotiate and subsequently present a supplementary budget to enable my government to fund the items needed to restore macro-economic stability and mitigate the harsh impact of subsidy removal.

 

The third was to secure a second supplementary budget, this time to enable us to keep our promises to promote national security, invest in infrastructure and provide much needed support to the most vulnerable households in our society.

In swearing-in my cabinet and reflecting on the unique challenges facing us, I invited the Ministers to imagine that we are attempting to draw water from a dry well. Today, I stand before you to present our Budget of Renewed Hope; a budget which will go further than ever before in cementing macro-economic stability, reducing the deficit, increasing capital spending and allocation to reflect the eight priority areas of this Administration. The budget we now present constitutes the foundation upon which we shall erect the future of this great nation.

PREVAILING ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

Economic conditions remain challenging both abroad and at home. Despite lingering Post-Covid supply and production bottlenecks, armed conflict in various parts of the world and restrictive monetary policies in major economies, we expect global growth to hover around 3.0 percent in 2024. This relative low rate has significant implications for our economy due to our current reliance on importation.

Distinguished Senators, Honourable Members: despite the global headwinds, the Nigerian economy has proven resilient, maintaining modest but positive growth over the past twelve months.

Inflation has trended upward due to weak global conditions. To contain the rising domestic prices, we will ensure effective coordination of fiscal and monetary policy measures, and collaborate with sub-national governments to address structural factors driving inflation in Nigeria.

The Budget proposal meets our goal of completing critical infrastructure projects which will help address structural problems in the economy by lowering the costs of doing business for companies and the cost of living for the average person, The Honourable Minister of Budget and Economic Planning will provide full details of this proposal.

PERFORMANCE OF THE 2023 BUDGET

Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members, an aggregate revenue of 11.045 trillion naira was projected to fund the 2023 Budget of 24.82 trillion naira with a deficit of about 6.1 percent of GDP.

As of September 30, the Federal Government’s actual aggregate revenue inflow was 8.65 trillion naira, approximately 96 percent of the targeted 8.28 trillion naira.

Despite the challenges, we continue to meet our obligations.

THEME AND PRIORITIES OF THE 2024 BUDGET

Distinguished Senators, Honourable Members, permit me to highlight key issues relating to the budget proposals for the next fiscal year. The 2024 Appropriation has been themed the Budget of Renewed Hope. The proposed Budget seeks to achieve job-rich economic growth, macro-economic stability, a better investment environment, enhanced human capital development, as well as poverty reduction and greater access to social security.

Defence and internal security are accorded top priority. The internal security architecture will be overhauled to enhance law enforcement capabilities and safeguard lives, property and investments across the country.

Human capital is the most critical resource for national development. Accordingly, the budget prioritizes human development with particular attention to children, the foundation of our nation.

To improve the effectiveness of our budget performance, government will focus on ensuring value for money, greater transparency and accountability. In this regard, we will work more closely with development partners and the private sector.

To address long-standing issues in the education sector, a more sustainable model of funding tertiary education will be implemented, including the Student Loan Scheme scheduled to become operational by January 2024.

A stable macro-economic environment is important to catalyse private investment and accelerate economic growth. We have and shall continue to implement business and investment friendly measures for sustainable growth.

We expect the economy to grow by a minimum of 3.76 per cent, above the forecasted world average. Inflation is expected to moderate to 21.4 per cent in 2024.

In preparing the 2024 Budget, our primary objective has been to sustain our robust foundation for sustainable economic development. A critical focus of this budget and the medium term expenditure framework is Nigeria’s commitment to a greener future.

Emphasising public-private partnerships, we have strategically made provisions to leverage private capital for big-ticket infrastructure projects in energy, transportation and other sectors. This marks a critical step towards diversifying our energy mix, enhancing efficiency, and fostering the development of renewable energy sources. By allocating resources to support innovative and environmentally conscious initiatives, we aim to position Nigeria as a regional leader in the global movement towards clean and sustainable energy.

As we approach COP 28 climate summit, a pivotal moment for global climate action, I have directed relevant government agencies to diligently work towards securing substantial funding commitments that will bolster Nigeria’s energy transition.

It is imperative that we seize this opportunity to attract international partnerships and investments that align with our national goals. I call upon our representatives to engage proactively to showcase the strides we have made in the quest to create an enabling environment for sustainable energy projects.

Together, we will strive for Nigeria to emerge from COP 28 with tangible commitments, reinforcing our dedication to a future where energy is not only a catalyst for development but also a driver of environmental stewardship.

Distinguished members of the National Assembly, the revised 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) sets out the parameters for the 2024 Budget.

After a careful review of developments in the world oil market and domestic conditions, we have adopted a conservative oil price benchmark of 77.96 US Dollars per barrel and daily oil production estimate of 1.78 million barrels per day. We have also adopted a Naira to US Dollar exchange rate of 750 naira per US Dollar for 2024.

Accordingly, an aggregate expenditure of 27.5 trillion naira is proposed for the Federal Government in 2024, of which the non-debt recurrent expenditure is 9.92 trillion naira while debt service is projected to be 8.25 trillion naira and capital expenditure is 8.7 trillion naira.

Nigeria remains committed to meeting its debt obligations. Projected debt service is 45% of the expected total revenue.

Budget deficit is projected at 9.18 trillion naira in 2024 or 3.88 percent of GDP. This is lower than the 13.78 trillion naira deficit recorded in 2023 which represents 6.11 percent of GDP.

The deficit will be financed by new borrowings totalling 7.83 trillion naira, 298.49 billion naira from Privatization Proceeds and 1.05 trillion naira drawdown on multilateral and bilateral loans secured for specific development projects.

Our government remains committed to broad-based and shared economic prosperity. We are reviewing social investment programmes to enhance their implementation and effectiveness.

In particular, the National Social Safety Net project will be expanded to provide targeted cash transfers to poor and vulnerable households. In addition, efforts will made to graduate existing beneficiaries toward productive activities and employment.

We are currently reviewing our tax and fiscal policies. Our target is to increase the ratio of revenue to GDP from less than 10 percent currently to 18 percent within the term of this Administration. Government will make efforts to further contain financial leakages through effective implementation of key public financial management reforms.

Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members, in view of the limited resources available through the federal budget, we are also exploring Public Private Partnership arrangements to finance critical infrastructure.

We, therefore, invite the private sector to partner with us to ensure that our fiscal, trade and monetary policies, as well as our developmental programs and projects succeed in unlocking the latent potential of our people and other natural endowments, in line with our national aspirations.

Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members, this Budget presentation would be incomplete without commending the patriotic resolve of the 10th National Assembly to collaborate with the Executive on our mission to renew hope and deliver on our promises to the Nigerian people. I assure you of the strong commitment of the Executive to sustain and deepen the relationship with the National Assembly.

As you consider the 2024 Budget estimates, we trust that the legislative review process will be conducted with a view to sustaining our desired return to a predictable January-December fiscal year.

I have no doubt that you will be guided by the interest of all Nigerians. We must ensure that only projects and programs with equitable benefits are allowed into the 2024 Budget. Additionally, only projects and programs which are in line with the sectoral mandates of MDAs and which are capable of realizing the vision of our Government should be included in the budget.

As a Government, we are committed to improving the lot of our people and delivering on our promises to them. The 2024 Budget has the potential to boost performance, promote the development of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, enhance security and public safety, and improve the general living conditions of our people.

In closing, I am confident that these budgetary allocations and directives will set Nigeria on a transformative path towards a sustainable and resilient energy future, fostering economic growth, job creation, and environmental preservation.

It is with great pleasure, therefore, that I lay before this distinguished Joint Session of the National Assembly, the 2024 Budget Proposals of the Federal Government of Nigeria, titled The Renewed Hope Budget.

I thank you most sincerely for your attention. May we collectively chart the course towards a brighter and cleaner future for our great nation.

May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.