Budget Reset: National Assembly Extends 2025 Fiscal Year to March

In a major fiscal reset aimed at addressing revenue shortfalls, weak capital execution, and overlapping budget cycles, the National Assembly on Tuesday approved a revised N43.5 trillion 2024 Appropriation Act and a reworked N48.3 trillion budget framework for 2025, with the implementation period extended to March 31, 2026.

The approval followed extended plenary sessions in both chambers of the legislature, culminating in the passage of the Appropriation Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bills for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years. The bills were transmitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In the Senate, the revised budgets were adopted after the consideration of a consolidated report by the Committee on Appropriations, presented by its chairman, Senator Solomon Adeola. Lawmakers said the exercise was intended to realign Nigeria’s budget framework with prevailing fiscal realities, close implementation gaps, and restore discipline to the budgeting process.

Presenting the report, Adeola explained that the legislation repealed earlier budget provisions and replaced them with revised figures reflecting revenue constraints, debt sustainability concerns, and emerging national priorities. He stated that the 2024 Appropriation Act was repealed from its original N35.01 trillion and re-enacted with an aggregate expenditure of N43.56 trillion.

For the 2025 fiscal year, the earlier N54.99 trillion budget was repealed and replaced with a revised total expenditure of N48.32 trillion. Adeola noted that part of the capital allocation was deferred to the 2026 fiscal year due to funding limitations identified during the budget review process.

He said extensive consultations between the legislature and the economic management team informed the decision to revise the budgets, particularly in response to concerns over revenue performance, debt exposure, and implementation capacity. As part of the adjustments, an additional N8.5 trillion was injected into the capital component of the 2024 budget to fund critical security, humanitarian, and economic interventions.

For the 2025 budget, N6.67 trillion was removed from capital expenditure and deferred to 2026 to improve execution efficiency and align spending with anticipated revenue inflows. Adeola cautioned against the continued practice of running multiple budget cycles simultaneously, warning that it undermines fiscal discipline, transparency, and accountability.

Based on these considerations, the committee recommended approval of the revised N43.5 trillion 2024 budget, the N48.3 trillion 2025 budget framework, and the extension of the 2025 budget implementation to March 31, 2026. The Senate subsequently passed the bills after debate.

The House of Representatives also approved the revised budgets after adopting the report of its Committee on Appropriations, following clause-by-clause consideration at the Committee of Supply. The plenary session was presided over by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas.

A breakdown of the revised 2024 budget shows allocations of 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 and development fund contributions.

For the revised 2025 budget, N3.64 trillion was allocated to statutory transfers, N14.31 trillion to debt servicing, N13.58 trillion to recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, and N16.76 trillion to capital expenditure. The 2025 budget will remain in force until March 31, 2026.

In his communication to the National Assembly, President Tinubu said the revisions were necessary to accommodate previously omitted items and align capital implementation targets with Nigeria’s revenue realities and execution capacity. He noted that persistent weaknesses in the implementation of the 2024 capital budget had constrained infrastructure delivery nationwide.

The president explained that extending the 2025 budget timeline would allow Ministries, Departments, and Agencies sufficient time to access and utilise capital releases based on a more realistic 30 per cent implementation benchmark. He added that the revisions form part of a broader fiscal reform agenda aimed at correcting structural weaknesses in the budgeting process, improving planning, strengthening accountability, and delivering better value for public spending.