Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said the 2025 budget for State House agencies will be based on needs assessment.

He said this was to ensure that funding allocated to agencies was based on actual requirements. 

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

“In any country in the world, resources are limited. For us it is about prioritising. 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?

“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 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 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. 

Mr Gbajabiamila also emphasised the importance of transparency in the procurement process, which is critical to upholding the administration’s commitment to good governance and accountability.

Mr Gbajabiamila visited the Nigeria Agriculture and Land Development Agency, Bureau of Public Procurement, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure. 

He was accompanied by Sen. Ibrahim Hadeija, Deputy Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Hadeija, Permanent Secretary, State House, Olufunso Adebiyi and Senior Special Assistant to the President, Administration and Operations (Office of the Chief of Staff), Oyinade Nathan-Marsh. 

(NAN)