The Federal Government will allocate funds in the 2025 budget based on a needs assessment and the prioritization of essential projects and agencies.
This was disclosed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, while speaking to journalists after a one-day fact-finding tour of government agencies under the State House, Abuja, on Thursday.
He noted that the limited resources available make it imperative to prioritize, emphasizing that funds allocated to agencies will be based on actual requirements.
The Chief of Staff questioned the current funding and performance of various agencies, urging a reconsideration of their mandates and relevance to the administration’s vision and the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He hinted at the possibility of merging or scrapping underperforming agencies to optimize resources.
Gbajabiamila stated: “In any country in the world, resources are limited. For us, it is about prioritizing. Where are we so far? What have the agencies done? How have they measured up to their mandates, and how important are their mandates in terms of the vision of this administration and the Renewed Hope Agenda?
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“A lot of agencies are not properly funded. Do we merge some of these agencies, do we scrap some? I’m not talking about the State House agencies.
“In 2025, we are not going to budget in a vacuum. We will budget based on a needs assessment.”
Interacting with the heads and staff of the agencies, the Chief of Staff pledged that the Presidency would ensure better welfare and working conditions for staff within the agencies under the supervision of the State House.
He urged the staff of these agencies to embrace innovation, excellence, and professionalism while supporting their chief executives to succeed.
Gbajabiamila also emphasized the importance of transparency in the procurement process, which is critical to upholding the administration’s commitment to good governance and accountability.
The Chief of Staff visited the Nigeria Agriculture and Land Development Agency (NALDA), the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC), and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).
Gbajabiamila underscored the importance of these agencies in driving the government’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the economic and development sectors and reiterated the administration’s resolve to strengthen these institutions.
He noted that the visit, the first of its kind under this administration, was a follow-up to the recent one-day retreat for the heads of State House agencies.