Gbajabiamila tours State House agencies ahead of 2025 budget

Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, yesterday, said that the 2025 budget for State House agencies would be based on a thorough needs assessment to ensure that funding allocated to agencies were based on actual requirements.

Gbajabiamila spoke to newsmen in Abuja, following a one-day fact-finding tour of some government agencies under the supervision of the State House.

‘’In 2025 we are not going to budget in a vacuum. We will budget based on needs assessment,’’ he said.

Earlier, in separate interactions with heads and staff of the agencies, the Chief of Staff pledged that the Presidency would ensure better welfare and working conditions of staff under the supervision of the State House.

He urged the staff to embrace innovation, excellence, and professionalism, while supporting their chief executives to succeed.

Accompanied by the Deputy Chief of Staff, Senator Ibrahim Hadeija, the Permanent Secretary, State House, Olufunso Adebiyi, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Administration and Operations (Office of the Chief of Staff), Mrs Oyinade Nathan-Marsh, Gbajabiamila also emphasised the importance of transparency in the procurement process, describing it as 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), Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC), and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).

At BPP, the Chief of Staff, while responding to a presentation by the acting Director-General, Olusegun Omotola, commended the agency for saving the Federal Government N1.7 trillion from 2009-2022 by blocking loopholes that would have been exploited during procurement.

At NAEC, Gbajabimila reaffirmed government’s commitment to developing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including electricity generation in the country.

At NASENI, Gbajabiamila commended the agency for championing local content development, particularly in the areas of electric vehicles, motorbikes and solar-powered smart irrigation systems, through accelerated technology transfer.