The Senate has announced that the N49.7 trillion budget for the 2025 fiscal year will not be passed before January 31, 2025.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had presented the budget to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 18, urging lawmakers to expedite its passage. However, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Senator Yemi Adaramodu (APC, Ekiti South), clarified that the budget defence by ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) would commence on January 7, delaying the final approval process.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Senator Adaramodu stated, “Joint Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives will begin engaging with MDAs on January 7. The final report will be presented on January 31.”

The appropriation bill, which has already passed its second reading in both chambers of the National Assembly, is now set for scrutiny by the committees before its eventual passage at the end of January.

This timeline indicates that Nigerians may have to wait until February 2025 for the implementation of the budget’s provisions.