Nigeria’s Federal Government has announced that implementation of the ₦54.99 trillion 2025 budget, christened the Budget of Restoration, will begin by the end of September 2025.
The move comes as the execution of the extended 2024 fiscal plan winds down, signaling a fresh phase in the government’s economic recovery agenda.
The 2025 budget disclosure was made by the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, during the 3rd Quarter Ministerial Stakeholders and Citizens Engagement Forum, held in Abuja and hosted by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.
Yakubu explained that the 2025 budget was deliberately designed to address critical economic sectors, stimulate investment, and improve the delivery of public services.
“The implementation of the 2025 budget will begin by the end of September.
The budget aims to boost economic growth and enhance services.
Effective execution and fiscal discipline will be vital to its success,” he said.
Yakubu underscored that Nigerians are the ultimate owners of public resources and therefore must be central to budget implementation.
He announced ongoing efforts to translate 2025 budget documents into local languages, simplify technical terms, and empower communities to demand accountability from their leaders.
“This government believes in openness. Citizens must be able to read, understand, and track projects being implemented with their taxes.
That is why transparency remains a priority,” Yakubu stated.
Despite the optimism, the DG identified structural challenges confronting Nigeria’s fiscal system. These include:
Setting realistic oil revenue targets amidst global market volatility.
Managing fiscal implications of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), particularly in balancing deregulation with revenue expectations.
Improving transparency in tax credit schemes and project financing, which have often been prone to abuse.
Managing debt servicing costs, already pegged at ₦14.3 trillion in the 2025 budget, representing one of the largest expenditure components.
Yakubu emphasized that addressing these challenges will determine whether the ambitious budget objectives are achieved.
The DG Budget Office outlined several policy measures aligned with the government’s long-term ambition of transforming Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy by 2030. These include:
Ward-based development programmes across 8,809 wards to decentralize growth.
Tax reforms and strict fiscal discipline to broaden revenue without stifling businesses.
Innovation and global partnerships, such as the recently launched $30.9 million Nigeria-Japan start-up initiative to support entrepreneurship and technology-driven growth.
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, reaffirmed the administration’s focus on transparency and evidence-based policy.
“Our programmes must be rooted in facts, not speculation. Data is the foundation of responsible governance,” he said.
Bagudu also clarified that while the 2025 budget will commence in September, the recurrent portion is already in motion, with salaries and debt obligations being serviced.
The Statistician-General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adeniran, added that credible data is indispensable in shaping policy.
However, he lamented persistent challenges such as underfunding of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), outdated tools, and small survey sample sizes that often affect the precision of national statistics.
Nevertheless, he assured stakeholders that NBS adheres to global best practices under the technical guidance of the United Nations and World Bank, while also pursuing initiatives such as statistical literacy programmes, new data visualization tools, and civil society collaborations.
In a related development, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, confirmed after a closed-door meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation that performance of the extended 2024 budget had reached about 80 per cent.
This progress, he noted, demonstrates the government’s determination to improve fiscal discipline and ensure continuity in project delivery.
However, analysts warn that Nigeria still faces hurdles in budget execution.
In August, reports suggested that the 2025 budget could extend into 2026 due to slow capital project execution, procurement delays, and technical issues with the government’s new Bottom-Up Cash Planning Policy.
Industry watchers say the start of the 2025 budget implementation in September will be a litmus test for the Tinubu administration’s ability to deliver on its promises.
With inflationary pressures, rising debt, and public demands for improved services, the stakes are high.
Economic experts argue that if effectively implemented, the Budget of Restoration could serve as a critical turning point, spurring growth and providing fiscal relief for citizens.
However, they stress that only strict monitoring, citizen engagement, and accountability can ensure that resources are not wasted.
Thursday’s forum, which brought together government officials, civil society leaders, development partners, and ordinary citizens, highlighted the central role of data, fiscal discipline, and transparency in shaping Nigeria’s development trajectory.
As the countdown begins for the rollout of the ₦54.99 trillion 2025 budget, expectations are high that this administration will overcome bureaucratic bottlenecks and deliver on its commitment to restore economic stability.
For millions of Nigerians, the real test will be whether the promises of the Budget of Restoration translate into tangible improvements in infrastructure, job creation, and social welfare.