The Senate has extended the implementation period for the capital component of the 2025 budget to December 31, 2026, giving federal ministries, departments and agencies three additional months to complete ongoing projects.
The latest extension, the fourth since the budget’s original implementation deadline, followed a motion by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele after an executive session and clause-by-clause consideration at the Committee of Supply.
The amendment to the 2025 Appropriation Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) moves the deadline from September 30 to December 31, 2026.
Bamidele said the extension would provide an administrative window to complete capital projects for which funds had already been released and ensure that critical national projects nearing completion were delivered.
He added that the measure was intended to sustain economic activity, support local contractors, improve the utilisation of released funds, boost budget performance and enhance public service delivery.
The Senate Leader clarified that the amendment was not designed to introduce new projects, stressing that the extension should not be interpreted as a relaxation of fiscal accountability but as a measure consistent with the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
The Deputy Senate President also defended the extension, saying it was necessary to ensure that the current administration did not leave ongoing projects unfinished, including those inherited from the Peoples Democratic Party-led administration.
The extension comes despite President Bola Tinubu’s earlier pledge to streamline Nigeria’s budgeting system and eliminate concurrent and overlapping fiscal cycles.
The 2025 budget’s capital implementation period was initially scheduled to end on December 31, 2025. The National Assembly subsequently extended the deadline to March 31, 2026, then to June 30, and later to September 30, before approving the latest extension to the end of December.
The House of Representatives has also approved an extension of the capital budget implementation period to December 31, 2026, following an executive request by Tinubu.
The request sought additional time for ministries, departments and agencies to complete critical infrastructure projects and other capital expenditure captured under the 2025 fiscal framework.
Lawmakers passed the amendment through accelerated readings, saying the extension would help prevent ongoing capital projects across the country from being abandoned because of funding bottlenecks.
With the approvals, federal government agencies now have until December 31, 2026, to disburse and execute capital allocations under the 2025 budget.
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