The Federal Government on Wednesday defended the re-enactment of the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts, rejecting allegations of constitutional violations and fiscal impropriety.

This comes despite the accountability group BudgIT’s assertion that operating overlapping national budgets constitutes a fiscal anomaly that undermines transparency and sound financial management.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, denied any claims that the National Assembly’s re-enactment of the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts breached the Constitution or violated fiscal rules.

The denial came in response to allegations from the Nigerian Civil Society Economy Action, which accused the executive and legislative branches of opacity, lack of transparency, and excluding citizens from the budget process. The coalition includes BudgIT, the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, the Centre for Social Justice, the Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative, and PRIMORG.

Responding to the claims, Yakubu stated, “The Budget Office of the Federation has noted recent public commentary on the repeal and re-enactment of the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts, including claims of a constitutional breach, fiscal illegality, and an alleged failure to provide access to budget documents.

“While public interest in fiscal governance is legitimate and welcome, Nigeria’s budget discourse must remain anchored in the Constitution, applicable fiscal legislation, and established legislative practice.

“Accordingly, the BOF provides the following clarification to correct key misconceptions, set out the governing legal framework, and reaffirm our commitment to transparency and responsible public finance management. Constitutional and Legislative Basis for Appropriation, Amendment, Repeal and Re-enactment. Sections 80–84 of the Constitution establish a sequenced framework for public expenditure: (i) the President prepares and lays estimates before the National Assembly; (ii) the National Assembly considers and authorises expenditure through an Appropriation Act; and (iii) the Executive implements expenditure strictly within the legal authority so granted.”

He emphasized that the Constitution does not forbid the National Assembly from repealing and re-enacting an Appropriation Act when fiscal conditions, implementation realities, or the need to reconcile fiscal instruments make such legislative action necessary in the public interest.

“Where the National Assembly passes a repeal and re-enactment bill and the President assents, the resulting Act becomes valid law. It is therefore incorrect to describe a duly enacted repeal and re-enactment as a ‘constitutional impossibility,’” he noted.

On the issue of budget duration and legislative extensions, Yakubu stated that while budgets are generally intended to run for a year, they do not have fixed expiry dates, making any extension by the legislature legally permissible.

On the allegation of ‘expenditure without appropriation’, Yakubu said, “The assertion that expenditure occurred ‘without appropriation’ conflates distinct concepts in public finance administration, including contractual obligations, cash releases, statutory transfers, debt service, and project commitments that may straddle fiscal periods.

“The legal test is whether expenditure is supported by lawful appropriation or other constitutional/statutory charge, and whether any required legislative oversight is sought through recognised instruments (supplementary appropriation, virement where permitted, or repeal and re-enactment). The repeal and re-enactment process serves, among other things, to consolidate and regularise fiscal authority through an Act of the National Assembly, thereby reinforcing, not undermining, constitutional control of public funds.”

The Budget Office DG also pledged to make fiscal documents accessible to the public, aiming to enhance publication, communication, and citizen-focused budget transparency.

“The BOF will work with relevant institutions to ensure that authenticated budget documents and enrolled Acts are made accessible through official channels as soon as they are finalised for publication. The BOF will continue to support citizen-friendly budget communication products to improve public understanding of fiscal policy choices.

“Nigeria’s public finance system rests on the rule of law, institutional responsibility, and the constitutional balance between the Executive and the Legislature. Where macroeconomic conditions and implementation realities require legislative adjustment, the proper response is lawful legislative action, not informal fiscal practice. The repeal and re-enactment process, having proceeded through the National Assembly and presidential assent, remains a constitutional and legislative instrument for budgetary oversight and alignment. The BOF remains committed to fiscal discipline, transparency, and constructive engagement with all stakeholders in the national interest,” he explained.