President Bola Tinubu has formally requested the House of Representatives to repeal and re-enact the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts, while also seeking an extension of the 2025 budget implementation to 31 March 2026.
The request was conveyed in a letter from the President, which was read on the floor of the House on Friday by the Speaker, Rt Honourable Abbas Tajudeen.
This move comes ahead of President Tinubu’s scheduled presentation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint sitting of the National Assembly later today.
In the letter, the President explained that the proposed legislation would repeal the 2024 Appropriation Act, initially set at N35.06 trillion, and replace it with a revised expenditure framework totaling N43.56 trillion.
He noted that the adjusted 2024 budget makes provision for N1.74 trillion in statutory transfers, N8.27 trillion for debt servicing, N11.27 trillion for recurrent spending, and N22.28 trillion earmarked for capital expenditure, with the implementation period extended to 31 December 2025.
President Tinubu further proposed that the size of the 2025 Appropriation Act be reduced from N54.99 trillion to N48.32 trillion, alongside an extension of its implementation deadline to 31 March 2026.
According to him, “This 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 also stated that the proposed bills would accommodate expenditure items previously omitted and introduce a revised capital implementation benchmark of 30 per cent.
He added that extending the 2025 budget timeline would enable the complete release of the 30 per cent capital allocation to Ministries, Departments and Agencies, enhancing project delivery and overall budget performance.
Tinubu reaffirmed that the proposals align with a broader fiscal reform agenda aimed at discontinuing the practice of overlapping budgets, which he said undermines effective planning, execution and accountability in public financial management.
In June, the Senate approved a second extension for the implementation of the capital component of the 2024 budget, moving the deadline from 30 June 2025 to 31 December 2025.
The extension was granted to ensure the completion of capital projects financed under the 2024 Appropriation Act.
The January-to-December budget cycle, widely regarded as a cornerstone of fiscal discipline, was introduced during the tenure of the 9th National Assembly.
Earlier, on 18 December 2024, the National Assembly had approved an initial extension of the 2024 budget’s lifespan to June 2025.
Last week, the Federal Government instructed Ministries, Departments and Agencies to roll over 70 per cent of their approved 2025 capital allocations into the 2026 fiscal year.
In a circular issued by the Budget Ministry and distributed to senior government officials, MDAs were directed to ensure that their 2026 budget proposals largely comprise funds already provided for in the 2025 budget.
The circular further clarified that the directive would not allow the introduction of new capital projects.
