The House of Representatives has extended the implementation period of the capital component of the 2025 Appropriation Act for the fourth time, moving the deadline from September 30, 2026, to December 31, 2026.
The decision was taken on Tuesday after the House resumed plenary from its annual recess and considered and passed an Executive bill seeking to amend the Appropriation (Repeal and Enactment) Act, 2025.
Leading the debate, the Majority Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, said the extension was necessary because of factors affecting the Nigerian economy that had made it difficult to complete the implementation of the capital component within the previously approved timeframe.
He urged lawmakers to support the amendment to ensure that the expiration of the existing deadline would not prevent the completion of projects and other capital commitments under the 2025 budget.
The latest extension means that the capital component of the 2025 budget, which was originally due to expire at the end of 2025, will now remain operational until December 31, 2026.
This is the fourth time the implementation period has been extended since December 2025, when lawmakers first approved an extension to March 31, 2026.
First extension: December 2025 to March 2026
The first extension came in December 2025, when the National Assembly approved a revised 2025 Appropriation Act and extended the implementation period of its capital component to March 31, 2026.
The House of Representatives approved the extension on December 23, 2025, following President Bola Tinubu’s request to allow the government to release and utilise capital allocations to Ministries, Departments and Agencies before the end of the revised implementation period.
Second extension: March to June 2026
As the March 31 deadline approached, lawmakers approved another extension of the capital budget’s implementation period, moving it to June 30, 2026.
The National Assembly approved the extension on March 31 after considering legislation seeking to amend the 2025 Appropriation Act. The House said the additional period was needed to allow Ministries, Departments and Agencies to continue implementing capital projects and utilise funds allocated to them.
Third extension: June to September 2026
The third extension was approved in June after lawmakers concluded that the capital component of the 2025 budget had still not been fully implemented.
The House of Representatives passed the amendment on June 15, extending the deadline from June 30 to September 30, 2026. The bill passed through first, second and third readings in a single sitting after lawmakers suspended relevant provisions of their Standing Orders.
During the debate, lawmakers said the additional three months would give the government more time to complete ongoing projects captured in the 2025 budget. Speaker Tajudeen Abbas also said records available to the House showed that the capital budget had not been fully implemented.
Fourth extension: September to December 2026
The latest extension came after the House resumed from its annual recess on Tuesday, with lawmakers again approving an amendment to the 2025 Appropriation Act.
The House of Representatives moved the implementation deadline from September 30 to December 31, 2026, giving federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies another three months to implement capital projects and utilise funds appropriated under the 2025 budget.
Ihonvbere, while leading the debate, attributed the latest extension to ‘several factors and forces impinging on the Nigerian economy’, saying these had made it difficult to conclude implementation before the existing deadline.
The House subsequently passed the bill after consideration at the Committee of Supply, chaired by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.
Following consideration of the appropriation legislation, the House of Representatives adjourned plenary until Tuesday, October 13, 2026.