The House of Representatives has explained that the repeal and re-enactment of the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts were necessitated by the need to align Nigeria’s budgeting framework with global best practices, enhance transparency, and address implementation challenges.

The Deputy Spokesperson of the House, Hon. Philip Agbese, stated this in a statement issued on Saturday, noting that the move was also aimed at strengthening accountability at all levels of government and reducing the oversight burden associated with budget execution.

According to Agbese, the repeal and re-enactment would streamline the country’s fiscal process by ensuring a more coherent and predictable funding structure.

“Basically, it is to align the nation’s budgeting system with global and international best practices. It is also to ensure transparency and accountability at all levels, and to lessen the burden of oversight during implementation,” he said.

He explained that the decision would pave the way for the adoption of a single national budget cycle after March 31, 2026, a move he described as critical to seamless execution by the Executive arm of government.

Agbese commended the House Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Hon. Abubakar Bichi, for its diligence and swift handling of the re-enactment bill transmitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He said the committee’s timely intervention enabled the House to consider and pass the bill before lawmakers proceeded on the Christmas and New Year recess.

According to him, the committee’s work also addressed the long-standing challenge of operating multiple budgets simultaneously, a practice he said often leads to fiscal confusion and inefficient use of public funds.

“The abysmally low performance of the 2025 capital budget was largely due to the operation of multiple budgets,” Agbese said, adding that running overlapping budgets dissipates government resources across several projects and produces poor outcomes.

He noted that adopting a single budget framework after March 31, 2026, would allow the Executive to manage cash flow more effectively and ensure timely release of funds.

“When there is a single funding system, it becomes easier to manage cash flow and ensure timely releases,” he said.

Agbese also commended President Tinubu for providing leadership in support of fiscal reforms, describing his commitment to budget discipline and economic stability as reassuring.

His remarks followed the President’s recent pledge to end the practice of multiple budget implementation by March 31, 2026.

While presenting the 2026 budget proposal, President Tinubu announced that Nigeria would operate a single budget from April 2026, anchored on a unified revenue cycle, to address persistent challenges such as abandoned projects, unpaid contractual obligations, and overlapping budgets inherited from previous administrations.

“So we are terminating the habit of running through a budget on one inflow. By March 31, 2026, all capital liabilities from previous years will be fully funded and closed. No overlaps, no excuses and no rollover culture,” the President had said.

Agbese described Tinubu as a listening leader, noting that the decision to end multiple budgets followed sustained calls from lawmakers and experts who had warned against the fiscal indiscipline associated with overlapping budgets.

He also expressed confidence in the President’s economic team, particularly the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, for developing a budget framework that reflects Nigeria’s economic realities.

Agbese stressed that the House remains committed to reforms aimed at strengthening public finance management, improving service delivery, and restoring public confidence in the budgeting process.