Says It is nothing but Encouraging Fiscal Indiscipline
The Network for the Actualization of Social Growth and Viable Development (NEFGAD), a prominent public procurement and fiscal responsibility advocacy group in Nigeria, has strongly criticized the National Assembly for what it described as a dangerous pattern of promoting fiscal indiscipline through the repeated extension of national budgets.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, the Country Head of NEFGAD, Mr. Akingunola Omoniyi, expressed concern over the National Assembly’s consideration of another bill seeking to extend the implementation period of the 2024 Appropriation Act. This would mark the second such extension in the current fiscal cycle.
The first extension, granted earlier in the year, had already pushed the budget’s implementation deadline to June 2025. NEFGAD warned that any further extension undermines Nigeria’s constitutional framework for public financial management.
According to the statement, the National Assembly’s oversight role on public finance is being seriously compromised. NEFGAD noted that national budgets are constitutionally time-bound instruments and that the designation of a fiscal year, such as “2024 Budget,” is not symbolic but a reflection of the constitutionally defined financial year, which ends on December 31 of that calendar year.
NEFGAD stressed that this framework was intentionally designed by the drafters of the Constitution to ensure transparency, accountability, and fiscal discipline. The group maintained that a national budget represents a financial plan prepared by the executive based on detailed needs assessments and due diligence. When implementation falters, it is the responsibility of the legislature to demand accountability, not to endlessly extend budget timelines.
The group argued that the existence of the 2025 Appropriation Act renders any continued implementation of the 2024 budget irregular, misleading, and unconstitutional. It called on the National Assembly to either terminate the extension or amend the budget’s title, warning that referring to it as the “2024 Appropriation Act” beyond December 31, 2024, is deceptive and unlawful.
While acknowledging the constitutional power of the National Assembly to amend federal laws, NEFGAD cautioned that such powers must be exercised within constitutional limits and in alignment with national interest. The group urged the legislature to recommit to its constitutional responsibilities and uphold fiscal responsibility and institutional discipline, which it described as essential to Nigeria’s economic stability and democratic accountability.
