By Atoyebi Nike
The Nigerian Senate has again extended the implementation timeline of the capital component of the 2024 national budget, shifting the deadline from June 30 to December 31, 2025. This marks the second extension granted for the ₦28.7 trillion budget’s capital expenditure.
The resolution followed the amendment and expeditious passage of the appropriation bill during Tuesday’s plenary, presided over by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin. The bill passed through its first, second, and third readings without delay and was considered by the Senate Committee on Supply.
Senator Olamilekan Adeola, Chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, led the debate, urging his colleagues to back the extension to avoid project abandonment and to allow ministries and agencies to complete ongoing capital projects.
Adeola noted that the federal government faces financial constraints and lacks sufficient resources to execute all the capital provisions within the original timeframe.
The capital portion of the budget had previously been extended from December 31, 2024, to June 30, 2025, following a request by President Bola Tinubu, who cited the need to optimize budgetary allocations and complete key infrastructure projects.
With the new extension, Nigeria is now running two parallel budgets—the extended 2024 budget and the 2025 budget, which is already in force.
While critics argue that the repeated extensions reflect weak execution capacity within government agencies, supporters say the move promotes fiscal efficiency and prevents the abandonment of critical national projects.
