The Senate passed the second reading and has passed the N1.78 trillion N1.78 trillion of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for the 2025 fiscal year.
The development comes after a letter from President Bola Tinubu, who transmitted the budget proposal to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, urging quick legislative action to achieve the capital’s critical development plan.
“I have considered the proposal for the 2025 FCT budget before the National Assembly, under Article 299 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Tinubu wrote. “The adoption of the budget will promote investment in health and social welfare, increase agricultural production and improve employment creation. I urge the National Assembly to give urgent attention to the budget to accelerate development within the FCT.”
In a rare move, the first and second time during the plenary session, Senate leader Opeyemi Bamidele’s motion made the budget. He seeks to suspend regular Senate Order 78 (1), usually staying for a second reading on the day the bill is filed.
However, the motion encountered boycotts from Senator Abdul Ningi, who represented Bauchi Central, who cited Senate Rules 77 (3) and 77 (4) and argued that the budget documents were not distributed to members before the debate. Despite opposition to him, the Senate is still considering the general principles of the bill.
The proposed budget outlines 1.55 billion guilds of personnel costs, with overhead costs of 343.78 billion n and specifies capital expenditure of 1.29 trillion n.129 million. Bamidele, led by the debate, said the bill authorized the withdrawal of N1.783 trillion from the FCT government from the 2025 fiscal year from January 1 to December 31.
He noted that 85% of the capital allocation will be used to complete ongoing projects, while 15% of the capital allocation will be used for new developments. “The aim is to provide effective, service-oriented governments with priority on infrastructure and essential services for FCT,” Bamidele said.
The bill has been referred to the Senate FCT committee, which was appointed to submit a report within a week.
