WorldStage— The House of Representatives has extended the implementation period for the capital component of the 2025 Appropriation Act from September 30 to December 31, 2026, marking the fourth time the National Assembly has shifted the deadline.
The decision followed the consideration and passage of an executive amendment bill during Tuesday, September 29, 2026 plenary session.
The session was presided over by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu following the House’s resumption from its annual parliamentary recess.
The amendment effectively extends the lifespan of the 2025 capital expenditure for another three months, ensuring that government agencies have until the end of the 2026 calendar year to fully disburse and execute allocations.
The motion for the extension was sponsored by the Leader of the House, Julius Ihonvbere, who argued that the shift was critically necessary due to severe macro-economic difficulties and fiscal pressures impacting project execution.
Ihonvbere noted that allowing the implementation window to expire on September 30 would stall numerous vital infrastructure projects across the country, creating severe funding bottlenecks and leading to widespread project abandonment.
This latest adjustment extends the implementation of the 2025 capital budget to a full 24-month cycle.
Originally scheduled to expire on December 31, 2025, the budget’s capital component was first extended by lawmakers to March 31, 2026. When implementation remained incomplete, lawmakers pushed the deadline to June 30, and subsequently to September 30 during an emergency recess session.
With the current approval, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government have been granted a new safety net to utilize allocated funds without the risk of unspent capital being prematurely mopped up by the treasury.
Lawmakers emphasized that the extension aligns with concurrent approvals in the Senate, which also amended the fiscal framework to prevent economic disruptions.
The repeated adjustments come despite earlier commitments by President Bola Tinubu’s administration to streamline Nigeria’s budgeting system and restore a predictable January-to-December fiscal cycle.
However, persistent administrative delays, procurement bottlenecks, and revenue challenges have continually forced the legislature’s hand.
The legislative approval will now be processed to align the financial timelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation with the new December 31 cutoff, allowing the 2025 capital framework to run concurrently with the 2026 budget.
