The FG plans a N26 trillion budget for 2024, with repayment of debt consuming N8.25 trillion.

The federal government intends to spend 61.63 percent of its projected 2024 budget on employees and debt servicing.
Personnel and pension costs of N7.78tn and debt service costs of N8.25tn total N16.03tn of the N26.01tn budget for 2024.
The government would spend more on debt servicing than it would on employee salaries and pensions.
In addition, the sum planned for personnel and pension costs is estimated to rise from N5.87 trillion in 2023 to N7.78 trillion in 2024.
This increased by N1.91 trillion, or 32.54 percent, despite worries about lowering the cost of governance.
The premier noted a 30.74 percent increase in debt servicing costs from N6.31 trillion in 2023 to N8.25 trillion by 2023.

In June 2023, the World Bank reported that the Federal Government’s spending on personnel and debt payment exceeded total revenues in 2022.
In accordance to the Washington-based bank, this is the first time that the Federal Government’s personnel and debt servicing costs have exceeded its entire revenue.

The bank also stated that as a result of this, capital expenditures have declined.

Personnel costs and loan interest payments accounted for 59% of the government’s overall expenditures in 2022, according to the bank.

During the evaluation period, the federal government also spent 102% of its revenue on staff costs and interest payments.

For the 2024 budget, the total expected expenditure is N26.01 trillion, which comprises N1.3 trillion in statutory transfers and N10.26 trillion in non-debt recurrent expenditure. Following the Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Minister of Budget and National Planning Abubakar Bagudu told State House Correspondents that the debt service was anticipated to be about N8.25 trillion, in addition to the N7.78 trillion allocated for personnel pension costs.

Providing clarification, Bagudu stated that the reason for the higher debt service was “because N22.7tn Ways and Means was securitized, meaning it became a Federal Government debt at nine percent.”

Similarly, transfers from the agreement between the Federal Government and the Organized Labor caused a large increase in staff costs.