Nigerian govt promises to stop operating multiple budgets simultaneously

The federal government has pledged to end the practice of extending the implementation of national budgets beyond their intended fiscal years.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, gave the assurance during a 2025 budget performance meeting with senators at the National Assembly in Abuja on Thursday.

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Mr Edun said the government had recorded a high level of performance in the implementation of the capital components of both the 2024 and 2025 budgets, assuring that the current administration would no longer extend budget timelines.

“With regard to the 2024 and 2025 budgets, we have maintained relatively high levels of performance, particularly under the capital component, which runs until the end of this year. We are committed to ensuring full implementation of the 2025 capital budget as well.

“As the Chairman rightly noted, we must put an end to the culture of budget overruns and repeated extensions of capital implementation. That is a collective commitment,” the minister said.

Nigeria’s budget overlaps

Nigeria’s continuous extension of the capital component of previous budgets has long been a source of concern. Successive governments, often with the support of the National Assembly, have justified such extensions as necessary for project completion.

Under the current administration, the Senate, led by Godswill Akpabio, has approved multiple overlapping budgets for President Bola Tinubu’s government.

For instance, in 2024, Nigeria operated three budgets. They are the N21.8 trillion 2023 budget, the N2.17 trillion 2023 supplementary budget, and the N28.7 trillion 2024 appropriation.

Though the ninth National Assembly passed the first two during the administration of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, President Bola Tinubu extended their capital components first to June and later to December 2024, even as the 2024 budget was already in force.

The trend continued in 2025, when the capital component of the 2024 budget, which should have ended in December 2024, was extended twice—first to June 2025 and then to December 2025. As a result, the country is currently running two budgets simultaneously: the extended 2024 budget and the 2025 budget of about N54.2 trillion, which lawmakers raised by N7 billion from the president’s initial proposal.

Many have argued that Nigeria has never implemented three budgets in one year since the restoration of democracy in 1999.

Targets to lift millions out of poverty

The minister said the Nigerian economy is stabilising, with inflation beginning to decline and growth accelerating across key sectors.

“At this point in time, we all agree that we have an economy where major distortions are being corrected, an economy that is stabilising, with inflation beginning to decline and growth accelerating across sectors.

“In the second quarter of 2025, the economy grew at 4.23 per cent. However, when you disaggregate that growth, you’ll see that the job-creating industrial sector grew by over seven per cent, specifically 7.45 per cent. That is significant because it doubles the population growth rate and helps generate income to lift people out of poverty,” he added.

Mr Edun reiterated that the government’s focus remains on implementing policies that promote inclusive growth and reduce poverty.

“Against that backdrop, our focus remains on sustaining broad-based growth across all 46 sectors of the economy to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty.”

Budget office speaks

The Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, acknowledged that the 2025 budget performance has faced challenges due to naira devaluation and rising inflation.

“We have indeed had a turbulent year, one in which most of the assumptions underpinning the 2024 and 2025 budgets turned out differently from projections.

“Oil revenue, assumed at $75 per barrel, fell short by between $10 and $15 due to global price fluctuations. Inflation also rose beyond projections, affecting borrowing costs and debt service performance, which significantly exceeded targets.

“Furthermore, the unforeseen fiscal implications of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2022 have compounded our challenges. Under the Act, 30 per cent of gross oil revenue and 30 per cent of oil and gas profits are retained for upstream operations, while the federal government also bears the NNPC’s operating costs. This has reduced the Federation Account allocation by nearly 70 per cent of what used to accrue. In addition, crude oil output has been lower than projected in the MTEF approved by the National Assembly.”

Senate awaits new fiscal framework

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Sani Musa, said lawmakers are expecting the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for 2026–2029.

“We have had the position at which the 2024 budget is, and what the position also is of the 2025 budget. And the expectations we are having for the ministry to, as a matter of urgency, bring the MTEF for 2026 to 2029. And the minister has briefed us, and we have collectively agreed that we are making progress, but we need to make more progress.

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“We have heard from the Accountant General, we have heard from the Director of Budgets, where we are with the budgets. The payments that have so far been released, the warrants that have so far been signed. And also, regarding the 2025 authority to incur the expenditure for agencies to be able to release their capital projects.

“We have all heard that, and we have agreed that we are making progress. And we expect that, with what Mr President has done just this week, sending a letter to the National Assembly, requesting more approvals for loans, to be able to see that the 2025 budget is also taking adequate care of. We have all agreed that we will want documented evidence of the performance of 2024, and our expectations for the 2025 budget, before we start talking about the MTF for 2026.”