Nigeria’s 2026 Budget has sparked intense public debate, largely because previous budgets from 2023 to 2025 remain only partially implemented. While critics have portrayed the situation as evidence of fiscal disorder, the government’s decision to reset the budget framework reflects a deliberate effort to restore coherence, end overlapping fiscal cycles, and address accumulated execution gaps. Understanding this recalibration is essential to separating genuine reform from political alarmism.
DEFINITION: WHAT IS A BUDGET RESET?
A budget reset means a deliberate decision by government to stop, clean up, and realign the budgeting and implementation process when it has become distorted or ineffective.
In plain terms, it is an acknowledgement that the existing budget framework is no longer working as intended, and continuing on autopilot would worsen inefficiency, waste, and confusion.
A budget reset typically involves:
Ending overlapping budgets so multiple fiscal years are no longer running at the same time
Reconciling outstanding obligations such as unpaid contractors and unfinished projects
Re-prioritising spending toward projects that can realistically be completed
Restoring one clear budget cycle for planning, execution, and accountability
Correcting structural weaknesses in revenue assumptions, cash releases, and project management
Importantly, a budget reset does not mean cancelling legitimate debts or abandoning completed work. It means re-establishing order before moving forward.
Think of it as pausing a malfunctioning system to fix it—rather than pretending everything is fine and compounding the damage.
Below are clear, factual examples of how other countries have carried out what are effectively budget resets—sometimes using different terminology, but for the same reasons: fiscal disorder, unsustainable spending paths, or broken execution systems.
● United States – Continuing Resolutions & Fiscal Resets.
When: Repeatedly (notably 1995–96, 2011, 2013, 2018–19, and recent years).
Why: Failure to pass full-year budgets on time; debt-ceiling crises; fiscal deadlock.
How long: Ranges from weeks to several months.
What happens:
When the U.S. Congress cannot agree on a full budget, it passes Continuing Resolutions (CRs). These temporarily “reset” spending by:
freezing funding at previous levels,
halting new programmes,
prioritising essential obligations,
forcing lawmakers to reconcile unfinished budgets before moving forward.
Key point:
The U.S. does not cancel prior obligations. It pauses expansion, stabilises spending, and restores order before enacting a full budget.
Lesson for Nigeria:
A reset is a temporary stabilisation mechanism, not fiscal abandonment.
● United Kingdom – Post-2008 Austerity Reset.
When: 2010–2015.
Why: Global financial crisis; ballooning deficits; unsustainable public spending.
How long: About 5 years.
What happened:
The UK government effectively reset its budget framework by:
cancelling or restructuring projects,
re-prioritising spending,
imposing strict departmental spending limits,
resetting medium-term fiscal plans.
This was openly acknowledged as a correction of a system that had drifted.
Key point:
The reset was an admission that the old trajectory was no longer viable.
Lesson for Nigeria:
Admitting a system is broken is not weakness—it is fiscal realism.
● South Africa – Adjustments Budgets & Rollovers.
When: Frequently, especially post-2015 and during COVID-19 (2020–2022)
Why: Revenue shortfalls, weak execution, emergency spending.
How long: Usually 1–2 fiscal years per cycle.
What happens:
South Africa uses adjustments budgets to:
revise earlier budgets,
roll over unfinished projects,
reconcile unpaid obligations,
reset priorities mid-cycle.
Key point:
Budgets are formally amended to reflect reality instead of pretending original assumptions still hold.
Lesson for Nigeria:
A reset works best when backed by clear legal processes and public reporting.
● Greece – IMF/EU Fiscal Reset.
When: 2010–2018
Why: Sovereign debt crisis; loss of fiscal credibility
How long: About 8 years.
What happened:
Greece was forced into a deep fiscal reset:
old budget assumptions scrapped,
spending radically restructured,
arrears audited and cleared,
entire public finance system rebuilt.
Key point:
This was a reset under extreme pressure—but it restored fiscal order over time.
*Lesson for Nigeria:
Delaying reform makes resets more painful later.*
5. India – Post-COVID Budget Recalibration
When: 2020–2022
Why: Pandemic shock; collapsed revenues; emergency spending
How long: About 2–3 years
What happened:
India recalibrated its budgets by:
suspending fiscal deficit targets,
re-prioritising capital projects,
resetting medium-term fiscal frameworks.
Key point:
Budgets were re-enacted to reflect new realities, not old plans.
CONCLUSION: WHAT ALL THESE CASES HAVE IN COMMON.
Across countries:
Budget resets happen when reality overtakes planning
They are used to restore coherence, not erase obligations
They usually last 1–5 years, depending on severity
They work only with transparency, discipline, and communication
Bottom line
A budget reset is not a Nigerian anomaly. It is a standard fiscal correction tool used by serious governments when systems drift, execution fails, or assumptions collapse.
The real question is not whether Nigeria resets—but how openly, fairly, and competently it is done.
Princess G. A. Adebajo-Fraser MFR.
President, The National Patriots.
Special Adviser Strategy, Research, Planning to Former President Goodluck Jonathan.
