President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has transmitted fresh Appropriation (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bills for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years to the National Assembly, with a renewed focus on strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture, including laying a firmer fiscal foundation for the proposed creation of state police.
The President’s request was conveyed in a letter dated December 18, 2025, and read in plenary by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas. Tinubu explained that the new submission supersedes the earlier budget transmission of December 16, 2025, and is aimed at ensuring the full release of the targeted 30 per cent capital allocation to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), a critical requirement for security and governance reforms.
According to the President, the repeal and re-enactment of the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts would allow for revised expenditure frameworks that reflect current fiscal realities, implementation capacity and the administration’s reform priorities, particularly in internal security management.
Under the revised proposals, the 2024 budget would increase from N35.06 trillion to N43.56 trillion, comprising N1.74 trillion for statutory transfers, N8.27 trillion for debt service, N11.27 trillion for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, and N22.28 trillion for capital expenditure and development fund contributions. A significant portion of the capital allocation, the President noted, is designed to support critical national infrastructure and security-related investments required to operationalise reforms such as state policing.
Similarly, the 2025 budget, earlier approved at N54.99 trillion, would be repealed and re-enacted at N48.32 trillion. The revised 2025 proposal includes N3.65 trillion for statutory transfers, N14.32 trillion for debt service, N13.59 trillion for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, and N16.71 trillion for capital expenditure and development fund contributions, covering implementation up to March 31, 2026.
President Tinubu stressed that extending the 2025 budget implementation timeline to March 31, 2026, is crucial to achieving the full release and utilisation of the revised 30 per cent capital implementation target across all MDAs. He said this would provide the financial flexibility needed to support emerging national priorities, including decentralised policing and enhanced security coordination between federal and sub-national governments.
The President explained that the adjustments also cater for items not previously recognised and align spending plans with realistic revenue expectations, while maintaining transparency and credibility in budget performance. He added that the move forms part of broader fiscal reforms aimed at eliminating overlaps arising from multiple concurrently running budgets, a situation that has often constrained effective funding of security initiatives.
Tinubu further noted that the proposed Bills would reinforce fiscal discipline by ensuring that appropriated funds are released and applied strictly for approved purposes. Provisions in the Bills include restricting virements without prior approval of the National Assembly, setting clear conditions for corrigenda, mandating separate recording of excess revenues, and limiting their expenditure to legislative authorisation—measures he said are essential for accountability as the country considers state police structures.
The Bills also mandate strict due-process compliance and periodic reporting on fund releases, agency revenues and external assistance, steps the President described as necessary to guarantee prudent public financial management and constitutional oversight, especially in security-related spending.
The House of Representatives is expected to deliberate on the Bills in the coming days, as part of efforts to reposition the national budget framework to support improved capital project delivery, sustainable economic management, and the successful take-off of reforms such as the creation of state police to address Nigeria’s security challenges more effectively.
