NASS extends lifespan of 2024 budget to June 2025

The National Assembly has approved an extension of the 2024 Budget’s lifespan to June 2025 following amendments to the 2024 Appropriation Act by both Chambers.

The Senate passed the bill titled, “An Act to amend the 2024 Appropriation Act to extend the Capital Components of the Act from 31st December, 2024 to 30th June, 2025 and for related matters”, shortly after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented the 2025 Budget at a joint parliamentary session.

With this amendment, the 2024 Budget will now run until June next year.

During the joint session, Senate President Godswill Akpabio hinted at the extension in his opening remarks.

He said, “Your Excellency, we have noted the 2024 budget performances of 50% for capital expenditure and 48% for recurrent expenditure respectively.

“Given these great achievements, we have deemed it necessary to extend the life of the 2024 budget to June 30, 2025.

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“The enabling law for this extension has already been put in place by this patriotic Assembly, as a testament to our appreciation for the great performance of the budget, ensuring we build upon your momentum.”

Meanwhile, earlier on Wednesday, Senator Osita Izunaso, representing Imo West and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions, expressed concerns about the disruption of the January-December budget cycle.

Speaking with journalists before Tinubu’s presentation of the ₦47.9 trillion 2025 budget, Izunaso attributed the disruption to delays in the Presidency’s submission of the proposal.

“The budget is coming late. Today is December 18, so we will lose that culture of beginning a new year with a new budget. Nevertheless, the budget has a lifespan of 12 months.

“So whenever we pass it, it will have a lifespan of 12 months. Even after 12 months, we still have the liberty to extend it. In fact, we are extending the 2024 budget today.

“But that culture of starting on the 1st of January, we have lost it. The executive ought to have brought this budget way before now. But I believe that maybe they are putting things together. They wouldn’t want to delay deliberately bringing the budget to the National Assembly.

“So I’m saying that that is not a problem, but we have lost that culture,” he said.

Checks revealed that the January-December budget cycle was introduced by the 9th National Assembly under Senator Ahmad Lawan’s leadership during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to enhance budget performance.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE