The deadline for implementing the capital component of the 2024 national budget has been extended by six months, from June 30 to December 31, 2025, by the Nigerian Senate.
Following the Senate’s consideration and approval of a bill to amend the 2024 Appropriations Act, the resolution was passed at plenary on Tuesday. Sponsored by Senator Solomon Adeola (APC, Ogun West), the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the amendment bill was expedited and passed all legislative readings in a single session.
Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau made the announcement, stating that the extension would enable the Federal Government to finish important capital projects that have been hampered by funding delays and income shortages.
Senator Adeola clarified that if the implementation period was not prolonged, a number of infrastructure projects would likely be shelved.
“We must not permit time restrictions to cause the abandonment of these significant national projects. He said that extending the implementation term will guarantee better service delivery and value for the money.
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This is the second extension of the implementation of the 2024 capital budget. At President Bola Tinubu’s request, the first extension was granted in December 2024, moving the original deadline from December 31, 2024, to June 30, 2025.
To keep projects moving forward and avoid wasting public dollars, lawmakers decided to grant another delay as the June deadline drew near and some important projects remained unfinished.
Nigeria will now run both the existing 2025 national budget and the extended 2024 capital budget concurrently thanks to the most recent extension.
Others see the action as a workable way to guarantee the completion of crucial infrastructure and governance continuity, while others contend that the frequent extensions show poor project performance by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
