Senate Corrects Errors In 2025 Appropriations Bill, Recommits For Reconsideration
The Senate has identified and corrected discrepancies in the 2025 Appropriations Bill, which was passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives last Thursday.
The errors were discovered during the final review and realignment process by the Joint Committee on Appropriations.
The corrections primarily impacted allocations for recurrent expenditure, pensions, and capital projects. Key adjustments include:
- Ministry of Defence: Revised from ₦2.51 trillion to ₦2.49 trillion
- Ministry of Police Affairs: Adjusted from ₦1.225 trillion to ₦1.224 trillion
- Total Pensions, Gratuity, and Retirement Benefits: Increased from ₦950 billion to ₦1.44 trillion
- Military Pensions and Gratuities: Revised from ₦252.6 billion to ₦383.9 billion
- National Pension Commission (PENCOM): Increased from ₦529.4 billion to ₦804.7 billion
Additionally, adjustments were made to capital allocations, with reductions in the budgets for several key ministries:
- Presidency: Reduced from ₦144.4 billion to ₦142.7 billion
- Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security: Revised from ₦1.95 trillion to ₦1.83 trillion
- Federal Ministry of Works: Adjusted from ₦2.04 trillion to ₦2 trillion
- Federal Ministry of Education: Reduced from ₦953.9 billion to ₦944.6 billion
Despite these revisions, the total budget remains ₦54.99 trillion, with the allocations for Statutory Transfers (₦3.64 trillion) and Debt Service (₦14.31 trillion) unchanged.
However, the corrections led to an increase in Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure to ₦13.58 trillion, while Capital Expenditure was reduced to ₦23.43 trillion.
Citing Orders 1(B) and 52(6) of the Senate Standing Orders (2023, as amended), the Senate has resolved to rescind its previous decision on the affected line items and the bill’s long title, and recommit the corrected bill to the Committee of Supply for further review and passage.
