The Federal Government has reduced the proposed allocations to the Ministry of Youth Development and the Ministry of Justice by about N20bn, following last-minute adjustments by the House of Representatives.
A review of the House of Representatives Order Paper dated March 31, 2026, showed that lawmakers, at the Committee of Supply stage, altered the figures for both ministries during the final clause-by-clause consideration of the budget.
Under the approved estimates, the Ministry of Youth Development received N518.27bn, comprising N498.07bn for recurrent expenditure and N20.20bn for capital projects.
This represents a marginal reduction of about N0.09bn from the N518.36bn initially proposed by the President in December 2025.
Similarly, the Ministry of Justice secured about N130.76bn in the final budget, made up of N86.69bn recurrent and N44.07bn capital expenditure, reflecting a decrease of roughly N19.79bn from the N150.55bn earlier proposed.
The adjustments formed part of a broader recalibration of the budget after the National Assembly adopted an upward revision request from the Presidency, increasing the overall size of the appropriation from N58.47tn to N68.32tn.
President Bola Tinubu had on Friday signed the budget into law on April 17, 2026, giving legal backing to the revised allocations, 17 days after the March 31 deliberations.
The President said the budget would drive economic stability and inclusive growth, with provisions of N4.799tn for statutory transfers, N15.8tn for debt servicing, N15.4tn for recurrent expenditure, and N32.2tn for capital projects.
Tinubu also approved an amendment extending the implementation of the 2025 budget from March 31 to June 30, 2026, effectively prolonging the life of the previous fiscal cycle.
Earlier in the budget proposal presented to the National Assembly, the Ministry of Youth Development was allocated N 518.36bn, largely driven by capital expenditure for youth empowerment programmes, skills acquisition, and interventions targeting unemployment, including funding for the National Youth Service Corps and training centres.
The recurrent component covered personnel and overhead costs tied to programme implementation.
For the Ministry of Justice, the initial proposal of N150.55bn was largely recurrent, covering salaries of law officers, litigation and arbitration expenses, and administrative operations, while the capital component focused on legal infrastructure and digitalisation initiatives.
However, the final figures approved by lawmakers show a shift in spending structure, particularly in the Youth Ministry, where recurrent expenditure dominates, indicating a stronger emphasis on programme-driven spending rather than infrastructure.
The March 31 Order Paper also revealed that the Appropriations Committee report and the amendment bill extending the 2025 budget were considered on the same day, underscoring the compressed timeline within which lawmakers concluded work on the fiscal plan.
With the President’s assent, attention is expected to shift to implementation amid concerns over revenue projections and the capacity of ministries to effectively utilise the funds.
