The Senate is expected to receive the final report on the N54.2 trillion 2025 national budget from its Committee on Appropriations this week. The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, made this known during plenary on Tuesday, stating that the committee, chaired by Senator Solomon Adeola (APC, Ogun West), would present its report on Wednesday or Thursday.
President Bola Tinubu initially presented a budget of N49.7 trillion to the National Assembly on December 18, 2024. However, the total budget was later increased to N54.2 trillion after the government identified an additional N4.5 trillion in revenue from agencies such as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and other Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs).
During Tuesday’s session, Akpabio noted that some lawmakers were absent from the chamber as they were finalizing work on the 2025 Appropriation Bill. He urged members to conclude discussions quickly so they could focus on completing the budget process.
“You will observe that some of our colleagues are not in the chamber because of the required final touches on the 2025 Appropriation Bill, the report of which will be laid before us tomorrow (Wednesday) or next tomorrow (Thursday) this week,” Akpabio stated.
The National Assembly had initially set January 31, 2025, as the deadline for passing the budget. However, both the Senate and the House of Representatives postponed their resumption from the Christmas and New Year break from January 31 to February 4. On that same day, lawmakers received a formal request from President Tinubu regarding the budget increase.
Following the president’s request, both Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, noted that the budget needed to be revised to accommodate the additional N4.5 trillion. Akpabio then urged the Committee on Appropriations to accelerate the process so the budget could be passed before the end of February.
During Tuesday’s plenary, Akpabio reaffirmed that the report on the revised budget would be submitted this week, setting the stage for its final consideration and passage.
