President Bola Tinubu has signed the Appropriation (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill, 2025, into law, extending the implementation period of the capital component of the 2025 budget from 30 September to 31 December 2026.
Bayo Onanuga, a presidential spokesperson, announced this in a statement on Wednesday.
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Mr Tinubu assented to the amendment bill barely 24 hours after both chambers of the National Assembly passed it.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed into law the Appropriation (Amendment) (No.4) Bill, 2025, extending the implementation period of the 2025 budget from September 30, 2026 to December 31, 2026.
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“The assent followed the amendment’s swift passage by both the Senate and the House of Representatives on Tuesday, September 29, 2026.
“The extension gives Ministries, Departments and Agencies more time to complete ongoing capital projects. It ensures that funds already appropriated are fully put to work for Nigerians, without disrupting critical programmes.
The President commended the leadership and members of the National Assembly for their prompt consideration of the bill, a further sign of the cooperation between the Executive and the Legislature in the service of the nation,” Mr Onanuga said.
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Fourth extension
With the president’s assent, Nigeria has officially extended implementation of the capital component of the 2025 budget for a fourth times—the budget which ought to have ended two years ago.
The implementation period was initially scheduled to end on 31 December 2025 but was first extended to 31 March 2026 to allow the federal government to complete ongoing projects captured in the budget.
When that deadline expired on 31 March, lawmakers extended the implementation period to 30 June 2026 for the same reason.
In June, when the second extension expired, the lawmakers again extended the implementation period to 30 September.
Repeated extension of the capital component of budgets has been a source of concern since the Bola Tinubu administration assumed office. Lawmakers and economic analysts have repeatedly criticised the practice.
On 9 October 2025, the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, while appearing before the Senate Committee on Finance during its consideration of the 2025 budget performance, pledged that the government would end the practice of extending budget implementation beyond the fiscal year.
In December 2025, President Bola Tinubu also promised to end the practice of operating overlapping budgets while presenting the 2026 budget before a joint session of the National Assembly.
Mr Tinubu assured Nigerians that by 31 March 2026, all capital liabilities would have been fully funded and closed.
“We’re terminating the habit of running three budgets in one flow. By March 31, 2026, all capital liabilities from previous years will be fully funded and closed. From April, Nigeria will operate on a single budget,” the president promised.
The latest extension, however, means that the capital component of the 2025 budget will remain open until the end of 2026, indicating that the government has not met the timeline outlined by the president.
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