• National Assembly fault Finance Ministry over premature contract directives
• Senate, House Appropriations Committees issue joint resolution
• Capital component of 2024 budget extended till Dec 2025
The National Assembly has directed the Federal Government to withdraw all circulars already issued for contract awards under the 2025 budget, faulting the Ministry of Finance for issuing premature guidelines.
The resolution was jointly adopted on Thursday by the Senate and House Committees on Appropriations after a closed-door session with President Bola Tinubu’s economic team at the National Assembly.
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The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Ogun West), read the resolution at the session.
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He stressed that only the Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE) empowers MDAs to begin capital spending.
“Circulars issued by the Ministry of Finance to the MDAs should be withdrawn pending issuance of AIE,” Senator Adeola declared.
Lawmakers raised concerns over Nigeria’s recurring problem of budget rollover, where capital projects stretch beyond fiscal years.
The directive comes as the nation battles high inflation, dwindling foreign reserves, and rising debt.
They also resolved that the capital component of the 2024 budget would continue until 31 December 2025, while the capital aspect of the 2025 budget must begin without further delay.
Thursday’s session was attended by key fiscal managers, including the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu; Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr Samsudeen Ogunjimi; and Director-General of the Budget Office, Mr Tanimu Yakubu.
The lawmakers pressed the team on why directives were issued before proper authorisation, insisting that such premature circulars could trigger irregular spending and distort the implementation timeline.
After adopting the resolution, both committees and the executive team moved into a closed-door meeting. No official dissent was recorded from the government’s side at the end of the session.
