National Assembly Moves to Delay 2025 Contract Awards Pending AIE
The National Assembly has directed the withdrawal of all circulars already issued for contract awards under the 2025 fiscal year.
The resolution, jointly adopted by the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Appropriations in Abuja, called on the Executive to halt the implementation of the circulars.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Adeola, explained that the capital component of the 2024 budget would remain in operation until 31 December 2025.
“The implementation of the capital component of the 2025 budget will commence as soon as possible, as the Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE) should be issued within seven days of this session with the economic team,” Adeola said.
“Circulars issued by the Ministry of Finance to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) should be withdrawn pending the issuance of the AIE.”
Parliament stressed that the ₦23.9 trillion capital component of the ₦54.99 trillion 2025 budget would extend into the 2026 fiscal year.
The joint resolution followed an earlier decision by the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday during its interactive session with the Federal Government’s economic team.
Members of the economic team present at the joint committee’s assessment of the 2024 and 2025 budget implementation included the Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun; the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu; the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Samsudeen Ogunjimi; and the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Tanimu Yakubu.
The session ended with both parties moving into a closed-door meeting, following the adoption of the resolution without any objection from members of the economic team.
