Breaking: Nigeria Faces Budget Delay As National Assembly Extends 2024 Budget Into 2025 Reason Behind It

The National Assembly has finalized plans to extend the 2024 budget cycle into the upcoming year.

Due to the delayed submission and presentation of the 2025 budget by President Bola Tinubu, lawmakers may not pass it before the year ends. As a result, Nigeria will miss the tradition of starting the new year with a fresh budget, and the 2025 budget will not follow the usual January to December cycle.

This was revealed by Senator Osita Izunaso, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions, as reported by Punch on Wednesday. He clarified that while the National Assembly does not intend to deliberately delay the passage of the 2025 budget, it will still maintain its 12-month validity once passed, even though the January-December budget cycle will be lost.

Izunaso explained, “The budget is coming late. Today is December 18, so we will lose the culture of starting the year with a new budget. However, the budget will still have a 12-month lifespan, and we can extend it if necessary. In fact, we are extending the 2024 budget today.”

He further stated that while the executive should have submitted the budget earlier, he doesn’t believe the delay was intentional, and that the government is likely working to finalize the budget details. He also emphasized that while the January start is lost, it is not a significant issue.

In 2020, the 9th National Assembly, under former President Muhammadu Buhari, introduced the January-December budget cycle to improve budget performance, replacing the former June-May cycle.

On Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu presented an estimated expenditure of ₦47.96 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year to the National Assembly.