The National Assembly has extended the implementation of the capital component of the 2025 Appropriation Act. The deadline moved from 30 September to 31 December 2026. The House of Representatives approved the extension on Tuesday during plenary. The motion was moved by House Leader Julius Ihonvbere. The Senate approved the same extension through a bill sponsored by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele.
This is the fourth extension of the 2025 capital budget. It was initially scheduled to lapse on 31 December 2025. The National Assembly first extended it to 31 March 2026. It then moved to 30 June. It moved again to 30 September. Each extension was justified by incomplete projects and the need to prevent abandonment.
Ihonvbere said the capital component had not been fully implemented due to economic difficulties. “It has been very difficult to conclude the implementation of the capital aspects,” he said. The extension gives Ministries, Departments and Agencies until December to execute projects and utilise appropriated funds.
The repeated extensions come against the backdrop of overlapping budget cycles. President Tinubu pledged in December 2025 to end the practice of overlapping budgets. The government said it would operate within a single revenue cycle. The extensions contradict that pledge.
Winners: MDAs, which gain more time. Contractors, who gain continued work. Lawmakers, who avoid blame for abandoned projects. Losers: Taxpayers, whose funds are delayed. The 2026 budget, which competes with 2025 projects. The government’s credibility, which suffers from broken pledges.
Bottom Line: The 2025 capital budget now runs until December. That is its fourth extension. MDAs have a year to spend money appropriated for 2025. Overlapping budgets waste resources. The pledge to end them was forgotten.