Reps push 2025 budget deadline to December 2026

The House of Representatives has pushed the deadline for the capital part of the 2025 budget from 30 September to 31 December 2026.

The House made this decision on Tuesday during a meeting after looking at a bill from House Leader Julius Ihonvbere.

The bill is called “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Appropriation (Repeal and Enactment) Act 2025, to Extend the Implementation of the Capital Aspect of the Appropriation (Repeal and Enactment) Act, 2025 from 30th September 2026 to 31 December 2026.” It passed the first and second readings before the House examined its details.

Mr Ihonvbere mentioned that the capital part of the 2025 budget has not seen full implementation due to “economic difficulties.”

After presenting the bill, the House moved into the Committee of Supply, where they went through the bill clause by clause.

The committee later reported back to the plenary, and then the bill was read for the third time and passed.

The Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, who led the session, announced the bill's passage after lawmakers showed strong support through a voice vote.

Fourth extension

This marks the fourth time the National Assembly has extended the capital part of the 2025 budget.

The National Assembly first extended the deadline in December 2025 to give ministries, departments, and agencies more time to finish ongoing projects.

After that first extension, lawmakers approved another one in March 2026, moving the deadline to 30 June.

In June, the House gave another three-month extension, changing the deadline from 30 June to 30 September 2026.

The latest extension offers the federal government an extra three months to keep funding and working on capital projects included in the 2025 budget.

These repeated extensions happen against the backdrop of difficulties in carrying out capital spending within the original budget timeline.

House adjourns plenary

After finishing the bill review, the House, which resumed plenary today after a two-month break, adjourned until 13 October.

The lower chamber went on recess on 23 July.

While the House did not give a reason for the adjournment, it might be related to the celebration of Nigeria’s Independence Day on 1 October.

Nigeria will celebrate its 66th Independence anniversary on 1 October 2026.