The National Assembly has called for the withdrawal of all circulars already issued by the Ministry of Finance for contract awards under the 2025 fiscal year.
Lawmakers said the move became necessary following indications that the ₦23.9 trillion capital component of the ₦54.99 trillion 2025 budget may extend into the 2026 fiscal year.
The resolution was jointly reached by the Appropriations Committees of both the Senate and the House of Representatives on Thursday during an interactive session with the Federal Government’s economic team at the Senate wing in Abuja.
It followed an earlier decision taken by the House Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday.
Reading the earlier resolution at the joint session with the economic team, the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Abubakar Bichi, said that at Wednesday’s meeting they agreed the implementation of the capital component of the 2025 budget should commence as soon as possible, and that the Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE) must be issued within seven days after the session with the economic team.
” Circulars issued by the Ministry of Finance to the MDAs should be withdrawn pending issuance of AIE”
Meanwhile, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola ( Ogun West ) who chaired the meeting emphersised that “Capital Component of 2024 budget will continue till December 31st, 2025.
He also assured that the objective was to review the level of implementation and performance of the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts as approved by the National Assembly.
Similarly, after the resolution, the joint committee called for a closed-door session, after which no further explanation was given.
Members of the economic team present at the assessment of the 2024 and 2025 budget implementation included the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu; the Accountant-General of the Federation, Samsudeen Ogunjimi; and the Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu.
Cov Bashir M.
