In a major fiscal reset aimed at addressing revenue shortfalls, weak capital execution and overlapping budget cycles, the National Assembly on Tuesday approved a revised N43.5tn 2024 Appropriation Act and a reworked N48.3tn 2025 budget framework, with the 2025 fiscal year extended to March 31, 2026.

The approval followed marathon plenary sessions in both chambers, culminating in the passage of the Appropriation Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bills for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years, transmitted to the legislature by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last Friday.

At the Senate, the revised budgets were approved after the adoption of a consolidated report of the Committee on Appropriations, presented by its chairman, Senator Solomon Adeola (Ogun West).

The exercise, lawmakers said, was designed to align Nigeria’s budget architecture with current fiscal realities, address implementation gaps and restore discipline to the budgeting process.

Presenting the report, Adeola explained that the core objective of the bills was to repeal earlier budget provisions and replace them with revised figures that reflect prevailing revenue constraints, debt sustainability concerns and emerging national priorities.

According to him, the 2024 Appropriation Act was repealed from the original N35.005 trillion and re-enacted with an aggregate expenditure of N43.561tn, with details covering statutory transfers, debt servicing, recurrent and capital expenditure fully captured in the committee’s report.

On the 2025 fiscal year, Adeola disclosed that the earlier N54.99tn Appropriation Act was repealed and replaced with a revised total expenditure of N48.316tn, noting that part of the capital expenditure was rolled over into the 2026 fiscal year due to funding constraints highlighted during the presidential budget presentation.

He revealed that extensive engagement between the committee and the economic management team informed the decision to repeal and re-enact the budgets, particularly to address concerns around revenue performance, debt exposure and effective implementation.

Highlighting key adjustments, Adeola said an additional N8.5tn was injected into the capital component of the 2024 budget to fund special interventions in response to security, humanitarian and economic emergencies facing the country.

He added that the revised framework was structured to balance responsiveness with fiscal responsibility, ensuring that debt-related spending does not erode legislative oversight or fiscal prudence.

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

Adeola also warned against the continued practice of running multiple budget cycles concurrently, stressing that extending the lifespan of one budget while another is already in force undermines fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability.

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

The Senate subsequently passed the bills for third reading after exhaustive debate.

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

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

A breakdown of the revised 2024 budget shows that N1.74tn was earmarked for statutory transfers, N8.27tn for debt servicing, N11.26tn for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, while N22.27tn is allocated to capital expenditure and development fund contributions for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025.

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

Like the Senate version, the 2025 budget is expected to run until March 31, 2026.

President Tinubu, in his communication to the National Assembly, explained that the revisions were necessitated by the need to accommodate budgetary items previously omitted and to adjust capital implementation targets in line with Nigeria’s execution capacity and revenue realities.

He said the revised framework reflects a more realistic capital implementation benchmark of 30 per cent.

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

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

A breakdown of the revised 2024 budget shows that N1.74tn was earmarked for statutory transfers, N8.27tn for debt servicing, N11.26tn for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, while N22.27tn is allocated to capital expenditure and development fund contributions for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025.

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

Like the Senate version, the 2025 budget is expected to run until March 31, 2026.

President Tinubu, in his communication to the National Assembly, explained that the revisions were necessitated by the need to accommodate budgetary items previously omitted and to adjust capital implementation targets in line with Nigeria’s execution capacity and revenue realities.

He said the revised framework reflects a more realistic capital implementation benchmark of 30 per cent. (Punch)