The National Assembly took decisive action on Tuesday to streamline the national budget cycle, as both the Senate and the House of Representatives passed bills repealing and re-enacting the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts.
The move addressed longstanding confusion arising from overlapping budget implementation, with the aim of restoring fiscal clarity and discipline by concluding capital expenditures within strict timelines.
The Senate approved the bills after adopting the report of its Joint Committee on Appropriations during plenary.
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Chairman of the committee, Senator Solomon Olamilekan (Ogun West), gave details of the revisions, noting that the repeal of the 2024 Appropriation Act targets a total expenditure of N43.5 trillion. "N8.2 trillion of the sum was allocated to debt servicing, N11.2 trillion to recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, while N22.2 trillion was earmarked for capital expenditure through the Development Fund for the year ending December 31, 2025," Olamilekan explained.
For the 2025 budget, the Senate approved a revised total of N54.9 trillion, comprising N3.6 trillion for statutory transfers, N14.3 trillion for debt servicing, N13.5 trillion for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, and N16.7 trillion for capital expenditure via the Development Fund, extending to March 31, 2026.
Olamilekan highlighted consultations with President Bola Tinubu's economic team, including the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, and the Director-General of the Budget Office.
"The committee noted that the bills were designed to strike a balance between responsiveness and fiscal responsibility, ensuring that urgent expenditures do not erode legislative oversight or fiscal prudence," he said.
The Senate expressed alarm over overlapping cycles, where the 2024 budget's extension into 2025 clashed with implementation of the new year's budget.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio emphasised the urgency of the reform.
"The passage of the repeal and re-enactment bills would help restore sanity to the budget process and strengthen fiscal planning.
"The Senate would continue to exercise its oversight responsibility to ensure transparency, accountability, and effective implementation of approved budgets in the interest of national development," he said.
The House of Representatives also passed nearly identical revised figures in its Committee of Supply, followed by a third reading in plenary.
The revised 2024 budget stands at N43.56 trillion, with N1.74 trillion for statutory transfers, N8.27 trillion for debt servicing, N11.26 trillion for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, and N22.27 trillion for capital expenditure ending December 31, 2025. The House also approved the revised 2025 budget of N48.31 trillion, broken down as N3.64 trillion for statutory transfers, N14.31 trillion for debt servicing, N13.58 trillion for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, and N16.76 trillion for capital expenditure up to March 31, 2026.
President Tinubu transmitted the bills last Friday, seeking to repeal the original 2024 Act of N35.05 trillion and re-enact it at N43.56 trillion, while adjusting the 2025 Act from N54.99 trillion to N48.31 trillion.
In his transmittal message, Tinubu justified the changes as reflecting "all items not previously recognised, while also reflecting a revised capital implementation target of 30 per cent."
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He explained, "The adjustment aligns with current fiscal realities and execution capacities, while ensuring that budget performance remains credible and transparent."
Tinubu further noted that the extension of the 2025 budget to March 31, 2026, would enable full release of the 30 per cent capital target for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
"This approach is part of a broader fiscal reform measure aimed at eliminating the overlap of multiple concurrently running budgets, thereby strengthening planning, execution, and accountability across government expenditure cycles," the President affirmed.
Lawmakers across both chambers hailed the alignment as a step towards ending budget distortions. The reforms promise to wrap up the 2024 and 2025 capital components by March 2026, fostering stricter timelines and enhanced oversight amid Nigeria's push for economic stability.
