By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Reporter
NIGERIA’s PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu will leave Abuja on Wednesday for a private visit to Paris, France, before proceeding to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the African Union (AU) summit.
In Addis Ababa, Tinubu will join African leaders at the 46th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council and the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of AU Heads of State, scheduled from February 12 to 16. He is expected to arrive early next week for the summit.
During his stay in France, he will meet with President Emmanuel Macron, according to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
Meanwhile, before his departure, Tinubu increased Nigeria’s proposed 2025 budget from N49.7 trillion, which he presented to the National Assembly on December 18, 2024, to N54.2 trillion.
He conveyed the adjustment in separate letters to both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who read the letter during plenary, said the increase resulted from additional revenues: N1.4 trillion from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), N1.2 trillion from the Nigeria Customs Service, and N1.8 trillion from other government agencies.
Akpabio directed the Senate Committee on Appropriations to review the request for swift consideration, assuring that the budget would be finalized and passed before the end of the month.