The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday approved adjustments to the 2025 Appropriation Bill, correcting errors in allocations across multiple ministries, departments, and agencies to ensure fiscal accuracy and transparency.
The review process, led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, is to ensure that the total budget remains at ₦54.99 trillion, aligning national spending with financial prudence.
The budget adjustments, presented during Tuesday’s plenary session, resulted from a final review by the Joint Committee on Appropriations.
Chairman of Appropriations Committee, Sen. Adeola Olamilekan, moved a motion to realign key budgetary allocations, addressing discrepancies in recurrent expenditure, pensions, and capital projects.

Some of the significant amendments included, ministry of Defence with adjustment from ₦2.51tr to ₦2.49tr, Ministry of Police Affairs, from ₦1.225tr to ₦1.224tr, Department of State Services (DSS) was allocated ₦24.84b, Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA) adjusted to ₦20.42tr and Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) raised to ₦42tr.

Others are, Police Pensions and Gratuities, adjusted to ₦10.45tr, Military Pensions and Gratuities: Increased from ₦252.6b to ₦383.9b and National Pension Commission (PENCOM) which was raised from ₦529.4b to ₦804.7b

Adjustments were also made to capital expenditure allocations in key ministries such as the,
Presidency where it was Reduced from ₦144.4b to ₦142.7b, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security: Adjusted from ₦1.95tr to ₦1.83tr, Federal Ministry of Works was Increased to ₦2.19tr, Federal Ministry of Education was Reduced from ₦953.9b to ₦944.6b and Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare was allocated ₦1.04tr
The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation got ₦289.55b
Despite these corrections, the overall budget structure remained unchanged with Statutory Transfers at ₦3.64tr, Debt Servicing: ₦14.31tr, recurrent (Non-Debt) expenditure raised to ₦13.58tr while capital expenditure was reduced to ₦23.43tr
In his intervention, Senate Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau who is also a former chairman of the Appropriation Committee in both the Senate and House of Representatives, emphasized the inevitability of minor errors in the budgeting process. 
He noted that such discrepancies, often arising from clerical miscalculations or staff oversight, are typically discovered and corrected during the final scrutiny before presidential assent.
“I rise to second the motion ably moved by Senator Olamilekan, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Having served as the chairman of the appropriation committee in both chambers, I understand that after every budget process, there are always some errors—whether clerical or computational,” Senator DPS stated.
He commended the Appropriation Committee for its diligence in identifying the errors at this critical stage, preventing the need for a post-assent amendment.
“Thank God, we have been able to discover these errors at this point before the bill has been assented to by the President. Otherwise, an amendment would have been required to correct them. I commend the chairman and members of the committee for their vigilance. The best course of action now is to move forward and get these corrections done.”

Senate President Godswill Akpabio emphasized that the amendments reflect the National Assembly’s dedication to accountability, transparency, and responsible governance. He assured Nigerians that the Senate remains committed to ensuring national resources are allocated efficiently to drive economic growth and national development.

“These changes reaffirm our commitment to fiscal responsibility and transparency. The corrections made today ensure that every kobo in the 2025 budget is properly accounted for, reinforcing public trust in governance,” Akpabio stated.

Citing Orders 1(B) and 52(6) of the Senate Standing Orders (2023, as amended), the Senate resolved to rescind its previous decision on the affected allocations and recommit the corrected bill to the Committee of Supply for reconsideration and final passage.

With the 2025 Appropriation Bill now properly aligned, the legislative arm has signaled its readiness to work with the executive to ensure full budget implementation, prioritizing national security, infrastructure, education, and social welfare.

As Nigeria moves into the 2025 fiscal year, the adjustments made today serve as a crucial step toward strengthening budget credibility and enhancing public confidence in governance.

***Lawmakers push for fair infrastructure allocation, urge urgent road repairs nationwide

The Nigerian Senate has taken a bold step in addressing regional infrastructure disparity, calling on President Bola Tinubu to include the Northeast in the Renewed Hope Super Highway Project.
Lawmakers argued that despite the ₦4.2 trillion road infrastructure plan, the region remains largely overlooked, with only two projects allocated to it.

Leading the charge, Senator Mohammed Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central) highlighted the glaring disparity in the allocation of road projects across geopolitical zones.
He stated that though it is commendable that President Tinubu’s administration approved ₦4.2 trillion for nationwide road infrastructure, the Northeast had been largely overlooked in the Renewed Hope Super Highway Project.

Going further, he recalled that the Federal Executive Council (FEC), in its February 3rd meeting, approved funding for various highway projects aimed at addressing the country’s poor road network and boosting economic development.
A breakdown of the project list, he said, revealed that the Northeast was allocated only two projects which are Yola – Fufore – Gurin Road (Adamawa State) – ₦11.81 billion and Karim Lamido Road (Taraba State) – ₦7.68 billion.

Senator Goje noted that aside from these two, several crucial road networks in the region remain in deplorable conditions including Bauchi – Gombe Road, Biu – Gombe Road, Potiskum – Gombe Road, Darazo – Gombe Road, Numan – Jalingo Road, Yola – Mubi Road, Yola – Michika – Madagali – Gwoza – Bama Road, Biu – Gombi – Mararaba Road and Biu – Damboa – Maiduguri Road.
Goje further noted that the Northeast is the only region without a direct connection to the Super Highway Project, despite its strategic role in national security and economic growth.
He urged the federal government to correct this oversight and prioritize road rehabilitation across the country.

In his remarks on the motion, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, decried the poor maintenance of road infrastructure across the country and called for a strategic roadmap on construction and maintenance of roads. He opined that no matter how many roads are constructed, without maintenance, they will eventually breakdown and join the multitude of bad ones already in existence.

“I believe strongly that if previous administrations in Nigeria had really done a serious roadmap on road construction and rehabilitation, we wouldn’t have had this problem.

“I think we should have a road map on how to maintain our roads and ensure their reconstruction.

“We’ll continue to have this kind of issues even if we declare a state of emergency on road rehabilitation and construction but there has to be a plan on maintenance.”

“Take for example,” he added, “the road linking Akwa Ibom State with Cross Rivers State was done in 1975 but with a provision that there should be an overlay in seven years, but 40 years after, that overlay was not done.”
Supporting the motion, Senator Sani Musa (Niger East) called for a nationwide emergency on road repairs, emphasizing that infrastructural neglect has hindered economic progress.

With growing pressure from the legislature, the question remains: Will Tinubu’s administration heed the call and finally bridge the Northeast’s infrastructure gap?

The Nigerian Senate, on Wednesday, amended critical sections of the bills establishing the Regional Development Commissions and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Trust Fund to address constitutional discrepancies related to their funding structures.

Presiding over the session, Senate President Godswill Akpabio stated that the amendments were necessary to prevent violations of Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which mandates that all revenues generated by the Federation be deposited into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The Senate made adjustments to Clauses 14 and 15 of the laws establishing the North-West, South-West, and South-East Development Commissions, as well as Clause 4(1) of the 2025 NYSC Trust Fund Establishment Bill.
These amendments ensure that the commissions and the proposed Trust Fund align with constitutional provisions on public finance.

The revisions were triggered by a motion titled “Re-committal of Bills to the Committee of the Whole”, presented by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele (APC-Ekiti).
Bamidele reminded the chamber that the bills had already passed both the Senate and House of Representatives and had been forwarded to the Clerk of the National Assembly for onward transmission to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
However, upon closer scrutiny, lawmakers noticed that certain funding provisions conflicted with constitutional guidelines.

“The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and any legislation that contradicts it becomes null and void to the extent of its inconsistency,” Bamidele emphasized, referencing Section 1, Subsections (1) and (3) of the Constitution.
He noted that to uphold legislative integrity, the Senate invoked Orders 1(b) and 52(6) of its standing orders to rescind previous decisions and recommit the affected bills for proper review.

Following the amendments, Senate President Akpabio confirmed that all bills are now in full compliance with constitutional mandates.
“The concerns raised under Section 162 of the Constitution regarding the allocation and management of public funds have been adequately addressed,” he assured.

Akpabio praised the efforts of the Senate’s establishment committee and lawmakers for their swift action, citing their “dedication, patience, and patriotic zeal” in ensuring the bills were constitutionally sound. He announced that the corrected bills would be transmitted to President Tinubu for final approval.

These amendments underscore the Senate’s commitment to upholding the rule of law while promoting regional development and strengthening the NYSC’s operational framework.