The Federal Government has directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to defer 70 per cent of their 2025 capital allocations into the 2026 fiscal year.
It gave the order in the 2026 Abridged Budget Call Circular, reportedly issued by the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to ministers, service chiefs, and heads of agencies.
This comes as President Bola Tinubu had delayed presenting the 2026 budget to the National Assembly, raising worries among concerned Nigerians.
In the circular, the federal government stated that MDAs must “upload 70 per cent of their 2025 FGN Budget to continue in FY2026.”
It further directed the MDAs to ensure that all rollover items align with the government priorities, which include national security, economic growth, education, health, agriculture, infrastructure, power, energy, and social safety nets.
According to the budget ministry, the government has adopted a new framework that caps all 2026 capital budget ceilings at 70 per cent of 2025 project allocations.
READ ALSO: FCMB Posts ₦134.5bn Profit as Interest Margins Offset Loan Drop
Stressing that only 30 per cent of this year’s capital budget will be released in 2025, it said the remaining 70 per cent will form the foundation of next year’s capital spending.
It said the policy is meant to prevent duplication, strengthen continuity and ensure that uncompleted projects are not abandoned.
It warned the MDAs against attempting to exceed their 2025 overhead ceilings in their 2026 submissions, despite inflationary pressures.
READ ALSO: Nigeria’s Economic Survival Hinges on Productivity, NESG Advisory Council Warns
“We are constrained by revenue challenges,” the ministry said. “While we note the impact of inflation, proposals that exceed approved ceilings will be adjusted downward.”
It noted that the 2026 budget must reflect the strategies in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (2026–2028), the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Plan, the Ward Development Plan and the National Development Plan, as well as the Accelerated Stabilisation and Actualisation Plan.
Pinnacle Daily reported on December 4 that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the 2026–2028 MTEF with a N34.33 trillion revenue target.
Continuing the budget, the ministry urged the MDAs to submit their budgets through the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) budget preparation subsystem, while government-owned enterprises will submit via the budget information management and monitoring system.
It said all the submissions are to be completed by Tuesday, December 9, 2025.
Key highlights
The circular showed further that statutory transfers are projected to drop from N3.64 trillion in 2025 to N3.15 trillion in 2026, while recurrent non-debt expenditure is estimated at N15.26 trillion
READ ALSO: 2025 Budget Delay: Tinubu’s Policies on Track – Agbese
Debt service obligations are set to rise sharply—from N13.94 trillion this year to N15.52 trillion in 2026.
Aggregate capital expenditure is projected at N22.37 trillion, down from N26.19 trillion in 2025. Also, capital allocations for MDAs will fall from N12.39 trillion to N8.67 trillion, while project-tied loans will shrink from N3.36 trillion to N2.05 trillion.
Deficit is to widen significantly to N20.12 trillion in 2026, from N14.10 trillion in 2025.
It stated that personnel costs have already been computed using data from the integrated payroll and personnel information system (IPPIS) and earlier submissions.
It noted that each ministry will be informed of its personnel cost ceiling for 2026.
According to the report, the financial projections accompanying the circular show a more constrained revenue outlook for 2026.
It indicates that total funds available to the federal government are projected at N54.46 trillion, down slightly from N54.99 trillion in 2025.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X
