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The Senate has approved a further three-month extension of the implementation period for the capital component of the 2025 Appropriation Act, moving the deadline from September 30 to December 31, 2026.
The extension was approved on Tuesday after the Upper Chamber considered and passed a bill seeking to amend the 2025 Appropriation Act.
The bill, sponsored by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), was considered clause by clause before its passage.
Leading the debate on the general principles of the bill, Bamidele said the amendment was necessary to provide additional time for the implementation of capital projects captured in the 2025 budget.
According to him, the execution of capital projects under the 2025 Appropriation Act had not reached optimal levels despite the release of funds to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Bamidele described the rationale for the extension as “compelling and pragmatic”, stressing the need to provide the affected government agencies with more time to implement projects for which funds had been appropriated and released.
The Senate Leader presented the measure as Senate Bill 1067, titled: “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Appropriations (Repeal & Enactment) Act 2025 to Extend the Implementation of the Capital Aspect of the Appropriations (Repeal & Enactment) Act 2025 from 30th September, 2026 to 31st December, 2026 and for other Related Matters, 2026.”
The Senate subsequently considered the bill clause by clause and approved the extension of the implementation deadline to December 31, 2026.
The latest extension gives MDAs an additional three months to implement outstanding capital projects and utilise funds appropriated under the 2025 capital budget.
It is the latest in a series of extensions to the implementation period of the 2025 capital budget. The deadline had previously been moved from March 31 to June 30, and subsequently to September 30, 2026.
The House of Representatives also approved the extension on Tuesday, meaning the measure has now secured approval from both chambers of the National Assembly. The extension, however, requires presidential assent before it takes effect as law.
The development means that, subject to presidential assent, the capital component of the 2025 Appropriation Act will remain available for implementation until December 31, 2026.
Bar & Bench Watch reports that the 2025 budget has undergone several extensions of its capital implementation period to allow MDAs to complete ongoing projects and utilise funds already appropriated for capital expenditure.
The latest amendment moves the deadline from September 30 to December 31, 2026, giving the Federal Government an additional three months to implement outstanding projects under the 2025 capital budget.
