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The National Assembly has approved a revised ₦43.5 trillion 2024 Appropriation Act and a reduced ₦48.3 trillion 2025 budget, extending the 2025 fiscal year to March 31, 2026, as part of a major overhaul aimed at addressing revenue shortfalls, weak capital project delivery and overlapping budget cycles.
Both chambers approved on Tuesday after extended plenary sessions that concluded with the passage of the Appropriation Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bills for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.
President Bola Tinubu forwarded the bills to the legislature last Friday.
In the Senate, lawmakers endorsed the revised spending plans after adopting a consolidated report of the Committee on Appropriations, presented by its chairman, Senator Solomon Adeola (Ogun West).
Legislators said the changes were designed to align the national budget with current economic realities, close implementation gaps and strengthen fiscal discipline.
Presenting the report, Adeola explained that the bills repealed earlier budget provisions and replaced them with revised figures that reflect revenue limitations, debt sustainability concerns and emerging national priorities.
He stated that the 2024 Appropriation Act was repealed from its initial ₦35.005 trillion and re-enacted at ₦43.561 trillion, with statutory transfers, debt servicing, recurrent spending and capital expenditure fully captured in the committee’s report.
For the 2025 fiscal year, Adeola disclosed that the earlier ₦54.99 trillion budget was repealed and replaced with a revised total expenditure of ₦48.316 trillion.
He noted that funding constraints identified during the President’s budget presentation led to the rollover of part of the capital component into the 2026 fiscal year.
Adeola said sustained consultations between the committee and the economic management team informed the decision to repeal and re-enact both budgets, particularly to address concerns about revenue performance, rising debt exposure and effective execution.
He revealed that lawmakers added ₦8.5 trillion to the capital component of the 2024 budget to fund special interventions responding to security, humanitarian and economic emergencies across the country.
According to him, the revised framework balances urgent national needs with fiscal responsibility, ensuring that debt-related spending does not weaken legislative oversight or undermine prudence.
On the 2025 budget, the committee removed ₦6.674 trillion from capital expenditure and deferred it to 2026 to improve implementation prospects in anticipation of stronger revenue inflows.
Adeola also cautioned against operating multiple budgets simultaneously, warning that extending one budget while another runs concurrently erodes fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability.
Based on these considerations, the committee recommended approval of the repealed and re-enacted 2024 budget at ₦43.5 trillion, the revised ₦48.3 trillion 2025 framework, and the extension of the 2025 budget implementation to March 31, 2026.
Following exhaustive debate, the Senate passed the bills for third reading.
