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From Adesuwa Tsan, Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Both chambers of the National Assembly on Wednesday passed the Appropriation (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2024–2025 through second reading on the request of President Bola Tinubu.
The bill signals a move to overhaul Nigeria’s budget implementation framework in a bid to end overlapping budget cycles and strengthen legislative oversight of public spending.
Leading the debate on the bill after a letter addressed to the Senate was read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele said the legislation is intended to correct structural weaknesses in the existing budget framework rather than merely amend figures.
The bill seeks authorisation for the Federal Government to spend N54.56 trillion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation for the year ending 31 December 2025. The proposed expenditure includes N1.74 trillion for statutory transfers, N8.27 trillion for debt servicing, N11.27 trillion for recurrent non-debt expenditure, and N22.28 trillion for capital expenditure and development fund contributions.
Bamidele said the central purpose of repealing and re-enacting the 2024 Appropriation Act is to halt the practice of running multiple budgets simultaneously, a situation that has persisted in recent years and complicated fiscal management.
According to him, the version of the 2024 budget passed in 2025 allowed for overlapping appropriation cycles, which weakened budget clarity and blurred accountability across ministries, departments, and agencies. The bill, he said, seeks to establish a clearer and more orderly appropriation mechanism.
He explained that the bill also provides a legal framework for consolidating and regularising expenditures already incurred or required in response to emergencies, including security challenges, humanitarian situations, and economic shocks, while ensuring such spending remains subject to parliamentary approval.
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Under the bill, the Senate is strengthening control mechanisms that were either weak or unclear in the earlier version of the Act. The bill expressly requires that appropriated funds be released and applied strictly in line with schedules approved by the National Assembly, limiting executive discretion in the use of funds.
It also introduces a stricter regime for virement, making it clear that budgetary reallocations can only be carried out with the prior approval of the National Assembly, unlike under the existing framework where such powers were less clearly circumscribed.
In addition, the bill narrows the scope for corrections or corrigenda, confining them strictly to genuine errors that could hinder implementation, and mandates the separate recording of excess revenue, with any expenditure from such funds subject to explicit legislative authorisation.
Bamidele said the bill further strengthens transparency and accountability through enhanced due-process requirements and periodic reporting on fund releases, expenditures, revenues, and external assistance.
He told senators that the repeal and re-enactment of the Appropriation Act is aimed at consolidating past fiscal actions, clarifying ambiguities in the current law, and providing a firmer statutory basis for budget implementation going forward.
The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, with a report expected on Friday, when President Tinubu is expected to lay the 2026 budget.
