2025/2026 Budgets: Reps Hold Emergency Meeting Today

The House of Representatives has announced an emergency sitting today to consider the Appropriation (REPEAL and Enactment) Act, 2025 (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2026.

The piece of legislation for consideration seeks to further extend the implementation of the Capital aspect of the Budget from 30th June to 30th September 2026.

Acting Clerk of the House of Representatives, Ibrahim Sidi announced this in notice to lawmakers sighted by LEADERSHIP on Sunday.

By this notice, the House which is currently on a short break which began on Thursday to last till early July will reconvene plenary to consider the item.

The notice reads: “I am directed to inform all Honourable Members of the House of Representatives that an Emergency Sitting of the House will be held on Monday, 15th June 2026 at 11:00 AM pursuant to Order Five, Rule 2(2) of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives.

“The purpose of the Emergency Sitting is to consider the Appropriation (REPEAL and Enactment) Act, 2025 (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2026 to further extend the implementation of the Capital aspect of the Budget from 30th June to 30th September 2026.

“All Honourable Members are required to take note and accord the Sitting priority attendance, please.”

The Senate on Thursday last week passed the same bill, approving a three-month extension of the implementation period for the capital component of the 2025 Appropriation Act from June 30, 2026, to September 30, 2026.

The resolution followed a motion moved by Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno (Borno North) after senators emerged from a closed-door executive session, where concerns were raised about the need to ensure the completion of ongoing projects and the utilization of funds already released for capital expenditure.

Moving the motion, Monguno said the extension had become necessary because a substantial portion of funds released to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for the implementation of projects under the 2025 budget remained unutilized.

According to him, delays caused by procurement processes, project implementation challenges, and administrative procedures had slowed the execution of several critical government projects.

Monguno noted that many strategic projects across key sectors of the economy were already at advanced stages of completion and required additional time for execution, certification, and payment.

“Failure to extend the implementation period of the 2025 Appropriation Act may result in the abandonment of critical projects, the wastage of already committed public resources, and the disruption of ongoing government interventions,” he said.

The Senate Chief Whip further argued that some allocations contained in the budget might not be accommodated in subsequent appropriation cycles if the implementation window expired, thereby creating funding gaps and undermining development objectives.

He maintained that extending the validity period of the budget would improve budget performance, facilitate the efficient utilization of released funds, and support economic growth.

“Granting a further extension of the implementation period is in the national interest and will ensure value for money in public expenditure,” he stated.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Ogun West), who supported the motion, explained that the extension was specifically targeted at the capital component of the budget.

He recalled that when President Bola Tinubu presented the 2025 budget to the National Assembly, there was an understanding that 30 per cent of the budget implementation would be completed by March 31, 2026, while the remaining 70 per cent would be rolled into the 2026 budget.

According to Adeola, that implementation timeline was not fully achieved, prompting the National Assembly to earlier extend the budget’s lifespan to June 30, 2026.

“While we were passing the 2026 budget, due to the non-implementation of that promise, we were forced to extend the budget to June 30, 2026,” he said.

He added that although payments had commenced, significant obligations remained outstanding.

“There is a need to extend this budget beyond June 30, 2026, to September 30, 2026. By then, we are hopeful that the outstanding 30 per cent will have been paid in full, while implementation of the components transferred to the 2026 budget can commence.”

Adeola urged senators to support the extension to ensure the proper implementation of projects and prevent disruptions to government programmes.

The motion received further support from Senator Victor Umeh, who seconded the proposal, citing the need to sustain the execution of projects captured under the 2025 Appropriation Act.

“In view of the need to sustain the continued execution of the projects covered in the 2025 Appropriation Act, as amended, I hereby second the motion,” Umeh said.

Following deliberations, Senate President Godswill Akpabio put the proposal to a voice vote, and it was overwhelmingly adopted by lawmakers.

The National Assembly had earlier extended the implementation period of the 2025 budget to June 30, 2026, following delays in the release and utilisation of capital funds.