The Nigerian Senate has approved a fresh extension of the capital component of the 2024 national budget, shifting its implementation deadline to December 31, 2025.
The decision was reached during plenary on Tuesday following the presentation and swift passage of an amendment bill to the Appropriation Act.
The bill, read and passed through first, second, and third readings in a single sitting, was supported by the lawmakers.
Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, who chaired the Plenary, announced the resolution following the adoption of the report by the Senate Committee on Supply.
The debate was led by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Solomon Adeola (APC, Ogun West), who defended the need for the extension.
According to Senator Adeola, “additional time is necessary to enable the Federal Government to complete several ongoing projects captured under the 2024 budget”.
He also cited revenue constraints, saying that limited fiscal resources had delayed execution of various capital projects.
“We must not allow these important national projects to be abandoned due to time constraints. Extending the implementation period will ensure value for money and improved service delivery,” Senator Adeola argued.
Senator Adeola therefore urged his colleagues to support the extension of the budget in order to avoid abandoned projects of the federal government spread across the country.
This marks the second time the National Assembly has extended the 2024 capital budget implementation.
The first extension came in December 2024 following a formal request from President Bola Tinubu, who sought to push the deadline from December 31, 2024, to June 30, 2025.
That extension was intended to optimise the use of allocated funds and enable the completion of critical infrastructure initiatives.
This development means Nigeria will continue to operate two national budgets concurrently, the extended 2024 budget, and the 2025 budget, which had already been passed and is currently in effect.
