The House of Representatives held an emergency plenary session and approved an amendment to the 2025 Appropriation Act, extending the implementation of its capital component from 30 June to 30 September 2026. The re-enactment bill scaled first, second and third reading within minutes, comprising three clauses, an explanatory memorandum and the long title of the bill.
Lawmakers described it as the third adjustment to the 2025 Appropriations Act, which should originally have elapsed on 31 December 2025. The House acted in line with the Senate, which had earlier approved the same extension of the capital aspect of the budget to the end of September.
After concluding the budget business, the House adjourned plenary sessions until 7 July, when a new legislative year is due to commence.
Away from the chamber, the House Committee on Defense held a public hearing on five bills aimed at strengthening the legal and institutional frameworks that govern the country's military. Lawmakers believe the proposed legislation will help address Nigeria's growing security concerns, and the hearing came on the heels of the State Police Constitution Amendment Bill earlier passed by the House.
The Speaker of the House attended the hearing in person to underline the importance of the bills, pointing to security challenges across the country, from the farmer-herder crisis in the North Central to separatist agitation in the South-West and South-East. He noted that the armed forces remain stretched even as they serve as the nation's first and last line of defense.
He argued that the security challenges facing the country demand bold and fresh thinking because the old approaches have not fully worked, adding that the process is now open to legislative innovation.
The Speaker called on a wide range of stakeholders, including serving and retired military personnel, civil society organizations, gender experts, veterans, lawyers and ordinary citizens, to participate actively and submit memoranda. He assured them that every memorandum would be read, every oral presentation noted, and all relevant contributions considered as work on the bills continues.