January 21, 2026—The 10th National Assembly, in a historic joint session, has concluded the legislative process for the repeal and re-enactment of the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts. This move, described by legal and fiscal experts as a “legislative masterstroke,” marks a departure from the traditional use of supplementary budgets, opting instead for a complete legislative reset to ensure the “Renewed Hope” agenda is built on a coherent legal foundation.
Historically, the Nigerian federal budget has been adjusted through “Amendment Acts” or “Supplementary Appropriations.” However, the complexities of the 2024–2025 transition—driven by unprecedented currency fluctuations and the removal of the fuel subsidy—demanded a more robust solution. By repealing the previous acts entirely and re-enacting them, the government has eliminated the “legal clutter” of multiple overlapping laws. This ensures that there is only one authoritative document for each fiscal year, reducing the risk of administrative errors in fund disbursement and auditing.
The Senate President, during the final reading of the bills, emphasized that this process was not merely a cosmetic change but a constitutional necessity. Under Section 81 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the President is required to lay before the National Assembly the estimates of revenues and expenditures. The repeal and re-enactment process allowed the legislature to re-examine every line item in light of the current 22.4% inflation rate and the revised exchange rate of ₦1,450 to the US Dollar.
This legislative reset also addresses the concerns of the Judiciary and the Auditor-General’s office. With a single re-enacted law, the process of post-expenditure auditing becomes streamlined. No longer will auditors have to cross-reference three or four different supplementary documents to verify the legality of a project’s funding. For the National Library’s archives, this represents a transition toward “clean” governance, where the law matches the economic reality of the day.
