NASS Extends 2025 Fiscal Year To March 2026

In a sweeping fiscal adjustment intended to address revenue gaps, poor capital project execution and overlapping budget cycles, the National Assembly on Tuesday approved a revised N43.5 trillion 2024 Appropriation Act and a restructured N48.3 trillion budget for 2025, extending the 2025 fiscal year to March 31, 2026.

The approvals came after prolonged plenary sittings in both chambers, which ended with the passage of the Appropriation Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bills for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years submitted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last Friday.

In the Senate, the revised budgets were adopted following the consideration of a consolidated report by the Committee on Appropriations, presented by its chairman, Senator Solomon Adeola (Ogun West).

Lawmakers said the review was aimed at aligning Nigeria’s budget framework with current economic realities, closing implementation gaps and restoring discipline to the budgeting process.

While presenting the report, Adeola explained that the bills sought to repeal earlier budget provisions and replace them with updated figures reflecting revenue constraints, debt sustainability concerns and evolving national priorities.

He noted that the 2024 Appropriation Act was repealed from its original N35.005 trillion and re-enacted with a revised total expenditure of N43.561 trillion, with statutory transfers, debt servicing, recurrent spending and capital expenditure fully captured in the committee’s report.

On the 2025 fiscal year, Adeola said the initial N54.99 trillion Appropriation Act was repealed and replaced with a revised total of N48.316 trillion, adding that part of the capital allocation was deferred to the 2026 fiscal year due to funding limitations identified during the presidential budget presentation.

He disclosed that extensive consultations between the committee and the economic management team informed the repeal and re-enactment of the budgets, particularly to resolve issues relating to revenue performance, debt exposure and effective implementation.

Highlighting major adjustments, Adeola said an additional N8.5 trillion was injected into the capital component of the 2024 budget to fund special interventions addressing security, humanitarian and economic emergencies nationwide.

He added that the revised framework was designed to strike a balance between responsiveness and fiscal responsibility, ensuring that debt-related spending does not weaken legislative oversight or fiscal prudence.

For the 2025 budget, the committee observed that N6.674 trillion was removed from the capital allocation and deferred to the 2026 fiscal year to improve budget effectiveness in anticipation of improved revenue inflows.

Adeola cautioned against the continued practice of operating multiple budgets at the same time, warning that extending one budget while another remains in force erodes fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability.

Based on these findings, the committee recommended that the Senate approve the repeal and re-enactment of the 2024 Appropriation Act to authorise total spending of N43.5 trillion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, alongside the revised N48.3 trillion framework for the 2025 fiscal year, and extend the implementation of the 2025 budget to March 31, 2026.

The Senate subsequently passed the bills after extensive debate and third reading.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives also approved the revised N43.56 trillion 2024 budget and the N48.31 trillion 2025 budget after considering and adopting the report of its Committee on Appropriations.

The passage followed a clause-by-clause review of the estimates at the Committee of Supply and their final approval at plenary, presided over by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas.

Details of the revised 2024 budget show 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 fiscal year ending December 31, 2025.

Under the revised 2025 budget, N3.64 trillion is allocated for statutory transfers, N14.31 trillion for debt service, N13.58 trillion for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, and N16.76 trillion for capital expenditure through development fund contributions.

As with the Senate version, the implementation of the 2025 budget is expected to run until March 31, 2026.

In his communication to the National Assembly, President Tinubu said the revisions were required to accommodate previously omitted budget items and adjust capital implementation targets in line with Nigeria’s revenue realities and execution capacity.

He explained that the revised framework adopts a more realistic capital implementation benchmark of 30 per cent.

The president acknowledged persistent weaknesses in the execution of the capital component of the 2024 budget, noting that these shortcomings significantly undermined infrastructure delivery and development projects across the country.

According to him, extending the 2025 budget timeline to March 31, 2026, would give Ministries, Departments and Agencies sufficient time to access and utilise the targeted 30 per cent capital releases.

Tinubu said the move forms part of a broader fiscal reform agenda aimed at correcting structural flaws in Nigeria’s budgeting system, including the long-standing issue of overlapping budgets.

He stressed that ending the practice of running multiple budgets simultaneously would improve planning, enhance implementation and strengthen transparency and accountability in public expenditure.

The president added that the revised budget framework is intended to deliver more credible budget outcomes, better coordination of government programmes and improved value for money for Nigerians.