President proposes repeal and re-enactment of 2024 and 2025 budgets to clear capital backlogs and end budget overlaps
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested the House of Representatives to approve an extension of the 2025 budget implementation period to March 31, 2026, citing the need to ensure full release of capital funds to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The request was conveyed in a letter dated December 18 and addressed to the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas. According to the President, the extension is necessary to allow MDAs fully access their approved capital allocations.
Alongside the request, Tinubu transmitted the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bills for legislative consideration.
In the letter, the President explained that the proposed legislation seeks to repeal the 2024 Appropriation Act, originally valued at ₦35.06 trillion, and replace it with a revised total expenditure of ₦43.56 trillion.
Under the re-enacted 2024 framework, ₦1.74 trillion is allocated for statutory transfers, ₦8.27 trillion for debt servicing, ₦11.27 trillion for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, and ₦22.28 trillion for capital expenditure and development fund contributions, with implementation running until December 31, 2025.
The President also proposed repealing the ₦54.99 trillion 2025 Appropriation Act and re-enacting it with a reduced total expenditure of ₦48.32 trillion, extending its lifespan to March 31, 2026.
The revised 2025 budget provides ₦3.65 trillion for statutory transfers, ₦14.32 trillion for debt service, ₦13.59 trillion for recurrent spending, and ₦16.71 trillion for capital expenditure and development fund contributions.
According to Tinubu, the revised bills are designed to capture expenditure items not previously recognised and to reflect a revised capital implementation target of 30 per cent, in line with prevailing fiscal conditions and execution capacity.
He said the proposed extension of the 2025 budget would allow the government to fully release the targeted 30 per cent capital allocation to all MDAs, while ensuring budget implementation remains credible and transparent.
Extension tied to fiscal reforms
The President said the proposed extension forms part of a broader fiscal reform agenda aimed at ending the long-standing problem of running multiple budgets concurrently.
According to him, the reforms are intended to strengthen planning, improve execution, and enhance accountability across government spending cycles, while providing a transparent and constitutionally grounded appropriation framework.
Tinubu added that the bills include provisions to tighten fiscal discipline, such as requiring that appropriated funds be released and utilised strictly for approved purposes, limiting budget virements without prior approval of the National Assembly, and mandating regular reporting on fund releases and agency revenues.
The proposals also outline conditions for corrigenda where genuine errors affect implementation, require separate accounting for excess revenues, and restrict the use of such funds without legislative approval.
The President noted that the letter supersedes an earlier submission dated December 16, 2025, and expressed confidence that the House would consider the bills expeditiously.
Earlier, Tinubu disclosed that only about 17 per cent of the 2025 capital budget, equivalent to ₦3.1 trillion, had been released by the third quarter of the year.
While presenting the 2026 budget to the National Assembly on Friday, the President explained that the low level of capital releases in 2025 resulted from the government’s focus on completing priority 2024 projects during the transition period.
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