The Senate has for the second time extended the implementation of the capital component of the 2024 budget to December 31, 2025.

The Red Chamber made the resolution during the plenary on Tuesday, following the amendment of the appropriation bill requesting an extension.

The Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who presided over the plenary, announced the extension of the appropriation bill following its first, second and third reading expeditious passage.

The appropriation bill was considered at the Senate Committee on Supply.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Olamilekan Adeola, led the debate during the plenary.

Adeola, the senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District, explained that the extension was required to allow the federal government to complete ongoing projects captured in the budgets.

He also claimed that the Nigerian government does not have enough resources to capture the expenditures proposed in the budget.

The appropriations committee chairman, therefore, urged his colleagues to support the extension of the 2024 budget in order to avoid abandoned projects of the federal government in different parts of the country.

The capital component of the 2024 budget was initially moved from December 31, 2024 to June 30, 2025, following a request by President Bola Tinubu.

The President?s justification at the time was to enable the executive arm to complete ongoing capital projects and optimise budgetary allocations. That extension was granted after extensive debate and consideration by both chambers of the National Assembly.

However, as the 30 June 2025 deadline approached, it became evident that several critical projects funded under the 2024 budget had not been completed, prompting the fresh extension.

With the new deadline of 31 December 2025, Nigeria is now operating two budgets within a single fiscal year: the 2024 budget, which is still being implemented and the 2025 budget, which has already passed and is currently in force.

As of the time it was extended in 2024, some critics argued that the extensions reflect weak execution capacity within government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, while supporters of the move believed it ensures value for money and completion of critical infrastructure projects that otherwise would have been abandoned. (The PUNCH)

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