The National Assembly has directed the withdrawal of all circulars already issued for contract awards under the 2025 fiscal year, signalling that the ₦23.9 trillion capital component of the ₦54.99 trillion 2025 budget will now extend into 2026.
The resolution was jointly adopted on Thursday by the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Appropriations during an interactive session with the Federal Government’s economic team at the National Assembly in Abuja.
The move followed a similar resolution taken a day earlier by the House Appropriations Committee during its separate engagement with the economic team. The joint decision underscores lawmakers’ concerns over the timely execution of capital projects and budget implementation.
Reading the resolution, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Ogun West), said the capital component of the 2024 budget would continue until December 31, 2025, while implementation of the 2025 capital budget must begin immediately.
“Implementation of the capital component of the 2025 budget will commence as soon as possible as Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE) should be issued within seven days after this session with the economic team,” Adeola stated.
“Circulars issued by the Ministry of Finance to the MDAs should be withdrawn pending issuance of AIE.”
Present at the budget review session were Finance Minister Wale Edun, Budget and Economic Planning Minister Senator Atiku Bagudu, Accountant General of the Federation Samsudeen Ogunjimi, and Director-General of the Budget Office Tanimu Yakubu.
After adopting the resolution, the lawmakers and the economic team entered a closed-door session, which ended without any objection from the government representatives.
The National Assembly’s directive is expected to prevent premature contract commitments and ensure the smooth transition between fiscal years, as the government seeks to fast-track the release of funds for critical capital projects under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.