President Bola Tinubu has requested the National Assembly to approve an extension of the 2025 Appropriation Act to March 31, 2026, as part of efforts to end the practice of running multiple budgets concurrently.
The request, contained in a letter dated December 18, was read on Friday during a special plenary of the House of Representatives by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
Tinubu explained that the new request supersedes an earlier communication dated December 16, 2025, and was submitted to address persistent overlaps in Nigeria’s budget execution cycle.
According to the President, the measure forms part of broader fiscal reforms aimed at strengthening planning, execution, and accountability in public spending.
He said the proposed amendments would allow for the full release of at least 30 per cent of capital allocations to Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), noting that delayed disbursements had continued to undermine budget performance.
The President added that the repeal and re-enactment of the 2024 Appropriation Act would revise its total size to N43.56 trillion, while the 2025 budget would be adjusted to N48.32 trillion and extended to cover the period ending March 31, 2026.
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The letter read in part: “I hereby transmit to the House of Representatives the enclosed Appropriation (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bills, 2024 and 2025, for consideration in accordance with the established constitutional and legislative appropriation process.
“The Bills seek to repeal the 2024 Appropriation Act of N35,055,536,770,218 and re-enact by authorising issuance from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation of the total sum of N43,561,041,744,507, comprising N1,742,786,788,150 for Statutory Transfers, N8,270,960,606,831 for Debt Service, N11,268,513,380,853 for Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure, and N22,278,780,968,673 for Capital Expenditure/Development Fund contributions for the year ending December 31, 2025.
“It also seeks to repeal the 2025 Appropriation Act of N54,990,165,355,396 and re-enact by authorising issuance from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation of the total sum of N48,316,242,591,785, comprising N3,645,761,358,925 for Statutory Transfers, N14,317,142,689,548 for Debt Service, N13,588,009,682,673 for Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure, and N16,765,328,860,640 for Capital Expenditure/Development Fund contributions, for the year ending March 31, 2026.
“The Bills cater for items not previously recognised while reflecting a revised capital implementation target of 30 per cent. The adjustment aligns with current fiscal realities and execution capacities, while ensuring budget performance remains credible and transparent.”
Tinubu urged lawmakers to consider and pass the bills expeditiously in the interest of national development.
Since May 2023, the Federal Government has grappled with overlapping budget cycles, largely due to delayed passage of budgets, revenue constraints, and slow release of capital funds. The Presidency has repeatedly argued that operating multiple budgets simultaneously weakens fiscal discipline, distorts project planning, and complicates accountability.
