The Budget Office of the Federation has defended the timing of the release of recent Quarterly Budget Implementation Reports, stressing that fiscal years are determined by law rather than by the January–December calendar cycle.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Tanimu Yakubu, Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, stated that the public debate surrounding the delayed reports had overlooked the constitutional and legislative foundations of fiscal administration in Nigeria.
Yakubu explained that while the calendar year is a fixed twelve-month construct, a fiscal year is a legal creation whose duration and validity are defined by appropriation laws enacted by the National Assembly.
Where legislation permits expenditure beyond a standard twelve-month period, the fiscal year, he said, is correspondingly extended.
According to the Budget Office, Nigeria’s fiscal practice has repeatedly departed from the strict January–December cycle through statutory extensions, supplementary budgets, rollover provisions and repeal-and-reenactment legislation.
The most recent adjustment followed the repeal and reenactment of the 2025 Appropriation Act in December 2025, alongside a formal extension of the 2025 budget’s implementation period to June 2026.
"These measures effectively extended the operational lifespan of the 2025 budget beyond the conventional calendar framework," the statement said, describing the fiscal year as a "legislatively sustained expenditure window" rather than a purely chronological concept.
The Budget Office stressed that this approach is consistent with international practice, citing examples from the United States (US) and India, where fiscal years differ from the calendar year by statutory design.
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It added that Nigeria’s own constitutional framework supports such flexibility, as Sections 80 and 81 of the 1999 Constitution require legislative authorisation for public spending but do not mandate a rigid twelve-month fiscal cycle.
Yakubu also referenced established judicial principles affirming legislative supremacy over public expenditure, including Nigerian and wider Commonwealth case law, to argue that extended budget implementation periods remain lawful where authorised by parliament.
The statement further explained that following the extension of the 2025 budget, the Budget Office undertook extensive reconciliations covering revenue performance, cash management, expenditure alignment, debt financing and inter-agency coordination.
These processes, it said, were necessary to ensure the accuracy and audit integrity of the quarterly reports.
As a result, the outstanding Quarterly Budget Implementation Reports are now being finalised and will be released in phases over the coming weeks.
The Office added that it is upgrading its digital reporting systems and data harmonisation frameworks to improve the timeliness and analytical depth of future fiscal disclosures.
Reaffirming the Federal Government’s position, the Budget Office said it remains committed to transparency, fiscal discipline, constitutional compliance and open budgeting in line with global public finance best practices.
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