A total of N404.07 billion was approved by the Senate for the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF) on Thursday.
The budget, broken into N170.10bn for 2025 and N233.96bn for 2026 is for strengthening police operations across the country.
The Senate approved the funds after considering the report of its Committee on Police Affairs presented by Senator Yunus Akintunde (Oyo-Central).
The committee is chaired by Senator Abdulhamid Ahmed Mallam-Madori (Jigawa-East). However, the Oyo lawmaker acted on his behalf as Mallam-Madori was away
Akintunde, while presenting the report, said the 2025 budget was being reconsidered because implementation of the previously approved budget could not commence due to legal issues surrounding the amendment of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Establishment Act.
He noted, “This budget proposal was previously approved for implementation under the 2024 fiscal period.
“However, owing to developments arising from the proposed amendment of the Nigerian Police Trust Fund Establishment Act, 2019, and other circumstances beyond the control of the Fund, implementation could not commence.
“Consequently, the budget is being represented as the 2025 budget proposal for legislative consideration and approval.”
The Senate unanimously adopted N170.10bn for the 2025 fiscal year at the session which was presided over by the deputy president of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin.
Making a contribution, Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi (Bauchi-Central) observed that the Police Trust Fund plays a critical role in addressing funding gaps within the Nigeria Police Force, noting that legal disputes had prevented the Fund from spending appropriated resources for nearly three years.
He spoke further, “The Trust Fund is supposed to fill the funding gap, but for almost three years running, because of legal issues, the Trust Fund has not been able to spend a kobo.
“We encourage the Fund to ensure that every kobo appropriated is properly utilized, and the National Assembly will track its implementation.”
Similarly, the Senate considered and approved the 2026 budget proposal of N233.96bn with over 90 percent of the allocation earmarked for capital expenditure.
Senate Chief Whip, Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno (Borno-North), described the allocation as a model for other government agencies to emulate.
He stated, “I am highly impressed by the fact that more than 90 percent of the budget is devoted to capital expenditure, while the rest goes to recurrent expenditure.
“Other MDAs should take a cue from this because capital spending has greater potential to positively impact the operations of agencies.”
Senator Jibrin, while endorsing the approval, praised the committee for its detailed work and expressed optimism that the approved funds would improve national security.
Although the Senate approved the 2025/2026 budget, the Nigerian Tribune recalls that a few weeks back when the debate on State Police Bill took centre stage, some lawmakers had asked whether it was realistic to keep funding the central police at the same time the cou
ntry was pushing for state police.
