President Bola Tinubu has formally requested the approval of the National Assembly to prolong the execution of the 2025 Appropriation Act until March 31, 2026, in a bid to curb the long-standing issue of running overlapping budgets.
The request was conveyed in a letter dated December 18, which was read on Friday during a special plenary session of the House of Representatives by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
Tinubu noted that the latest correspondence replaces an earlier letter sent on December 16, 2025, explaining that the revised request was necessary to address recurring overlaps in the country’s budget implementation timeline.
According to the President, the proposal is part of wider fiscal reforms designed to improve budget planning, execution and accountability across government spending.
He said the planned amendments would make it possible for at least 30 per cent of capital allocations to be fully released to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), stressing that delays in fund releases have continued to weaken budget performance.
Tinubu further explained that the repeal and re-enactment of the 2024 Appropriation Act would increase its size to N43.56 trillion, while the 2025 budget would be revised to N48.32 trillion and extended to run until March 31, 2026.
In the letter to lawmakers, he stated, “I hereby transmit to the House of Representatives the enclosed Appropriation (Repeal and Re-Enactment Bills), 2024 and 2025, for the consideration of the National Assembly, 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 the 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 31st December 2025 as provided in the Bill).
“It also seeks to repeal The 2025 Appropriation Act of N54,990,165,355,396 and re-enact by authorising the 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 contribution, for the year ending 31st March, 2026 (as provided in the bill).
“The House of Representatives is invited to note that The Bills are submitted to cater for all items not previously recognised while also reflecting a revised capital implementation target of 30%.
“In addition, this adjustment aligns with current fiscal realities and execution capacities, while ensuring that budget performance remains credible and transparent. It further seeks to extend the 2025 Budget to March 31st, 2026 to allow for full release of the target 30% for all MDAs.”
The President appealed to lawmakers to give the bills prompt consideration and approval in the interest of national development.
Since Tinubu took office in May 2023, the Federal Government has faced persistent challenges with overlapping budget cycles, largely due to late budget approvals, revenue shortfalls and slow disbursement of capital funds.
The Presidency has consistently maintained that operating multiple budgets at once undermines fiscal discipline, disrupts project planning and complicates transparency and accountability.
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