The Deputy Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Hon. Philip Agbese has said the recent decision by the House to repeal and re-enact the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts was driven by the need to align Nigeria’s budgeting framework with global best practices, enhance transparency, and ease implementation challenges.

Speaking in an interview on Friday, Agbese said the lawmakers took the step to strengthen accountability at all levels of government while reducing the oversight burden that typically trails budget execution.

According to him, the repeal and re-enactment will help 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,” Agbese said.

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

Agbese commended the Hon. Abubakar Bichi-led House Committee on Appropriations for their diligent and prompt work on the re-enactment bill transmitted to the House by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He said the committee’s promptness paved way for the eventual consideration and passage of the bill before the lawmakers proceeded on their Christmas and New Year holidays.

According to him, the work of the committee has further helped in addressing the issue of running multiple budgets in the country.

He said running of multiple budgets will lead to fiscal confusion and dissipation of government’s finances in the execution of multiple projects, leading to poor outcome.

The lawmaker observed that the abysmally low performance of the 2025 capital budget was due to the running of multiple budgets.

“By adopting a single budget after March 31, 2026, the Executive will be able to execute the budget without much hassle. When there is a single funding system, it becomes easier to manage cash flow and ensure timely releases,” he added.

Agbese commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for providing leadership that supports fiscal reforms, describing the President’s commitment to budget discipline and economic stability as reassuring.

His commendation was In response to the recent commitment made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that running of multiple budgets would end by March 31, 2026.

President Tinubu during presentation of the 2026 budget announced that the era of multiple budget implementations in Nigeria will come to an end by March 2026, stating that from April, the country will operate a single budget anchored on a unified revenue cycle.

According to the President, the reform is aimed at addressing long-standing challenges such as abandoned projects, unpaid contractual obligations and overlapping budgets inherited across different administrations.

“This is research, a very hard one. Avoiding abandoned projects, unpaid contractual obligations and running multiple budgets, both inherited and of fulfilled mandates, is a problem staring the nation.

“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 cultures,” he said.

He described Tinubu as a listening leader, adding that his commitment to end multiple budgets was in response to calls by lawmakers and other experts who have spoken against the running of multiple budgets which often lead to fiscal indiscipline.

The lawmaker also passed a vote of confidence on the President’s economic team, particularly the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, praising them for taking the time to develop a budget framework that reflects Nigeria’s economic realities.

“We want to commend the economic team, especially the budget and planning ministry, for putting together a budget plan that reflects the nation’s reality and the economic interests of the various segments of our society,” he said.

Agbese stressed that the House remains committed to reforms that will strengthen public finance management, improve service delivery, and restore public confidence in the budgeting process. (The Nation)

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