Development Planning and Project Continuity Bill

What Is This Bill?

The Development Planning and Project Continuity Bill is Nigeria's legislative response to chronic policy inconsistency and the mass abandonment of public projects across successive administrations. Introduced by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, the Bill seeks to institutionalise national development planning by making medium-term national development plans legally binding, enforceable, and protected from the disruptions of political transitions. It directly enables the implementation architecture required under the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021–2025 and the long-term Nigeria Agenda 2050, both of which identified the Bill's passage as one of 18 priority laws required for effective plan execution.

Who Does It Target?

Federal and state ministries, departments, and agencies responsible for project planning and implementation The Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and its sub-national equivalents Contractors and private sector partners engaged in government-funded capital projects Inter-agency coordination bodies overseeing the execution of the NDP 2021–2025 All tiers of government; federal, state, and local in the context of coordinated national planning Civil society organisations and citizens involved in monitoring and evaluation of public projects

What Does It Aim to Achieve?

Establish a legal framework that compels successive governments to continue capital projects initiated under approved national development plans End the culture of project abandonment by making uncompleted capital projects subject to mandatory continuation obligations Institutionalise the national development planning cycle from Nigeria Agenda 2050 down through six sequential Medium-Term National Development Plans (2021–2050) Strengthen the link between the Annual Budget and the approved National Development Plan to prevent uncoordinated spending Improve inter-sectoral and inter-governmental collaboration for harmonised plan implementation Enable effective monitoring and evaluation through mandated use of frameworks such as the National M&E Policy approved by the Federal Executive Council Enhance investor confidence by creating a predictable, legally anchored policy and infrastructure delivery environment

Key Features

Mandatory Plan Continuity: Incoming governments are legally obligated to continue capital projects embedded in an approved national development plan, regardless of political transition Institutionalised Planning Cycle: Codifies the six medium-term plan cycle (NDP 2021–2025 through 2046–2050) aligned to Nigeria Agenda 2050 into statute Budget-Plan Linkage: Mandates that annual appropriations reflect and support the priorities of the current approved national development plan Inter-Governmental Coordination: Establishes mechanisms for harmonised planning collaboration between federal, state, and local government levels Monitoring & Evaluation Framework: Provides legislative backing for the National M&E Policy, requiring periodic reporting on plan implementation and project delivery progress Mid-Term Plan Reviews: Mandates mid-term reviews of each five-year NDP to assess performance, correct deviations, and inform subsequent plans Private Sector Enablement: Creates a legally stable planning environment designed to attract and retain private sector investment in public infrastructure

Current Status

Rollout Stage: 1st Reading 20 July 2023. Further legislative progression pending as of 2025; the bill has not yet been listed as passed or gazetted Policy Imperative: Listed in NDP 2021–2025 Volume III (Legal & Legislative Imperatives) as one of 18 laws required for effective plan implementation Nigeria Agenda 2050: The Bill provides the enforcement mechanism for the six medium-term plans forming the pathway to Nigeria Agenda 2050 targeting upper-middle income status by 2050

How to Access

Government Agencies: Track bill progression via the National Assembly Bills Tracker at nass.gov.ng. Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) should align capital project pipelines with NDP 2021–2025 frameworks in anticipation of passage Private Sector Investors: Engage the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning (FMFBNP) on project registration and the NDP 2021–2025 investment framework aligned with the Bill's intent Civil Society & Researchers: Access the NDP 2021–2025 Volumes I–III via the FMFBNP or Nigeria Repository at nigeriareposit.nln.gov.ng. Participate in planned mid-term review consultations Sub-national Governments: States should ensure their state development plans are harmonised with the Federal NDP cycle to benefit from inter-governmental coordination provisions Contact: Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning: finance.gov.ng | National Assembly: nass.gov.ng | Sponsor's Office: Deputy Senate President, National Assembly Complex, Three Arms Zone, Abuja

Important Terms

Project Continuity Obligation: The proposed legal duty on incoming administrations to continue capital projects approved and commenced under a current national development plan NDP (National Development Plan): A five-year medium-term blueprint produced by the Federal Government setting investment, programme and policy targets the current plan covers 2021–2025 Nigeria Agenda 2050: Nigeria's long-term perspective plan targeting transformation into an upper-middle income country by 2050, providing the overarching framework for six successive NDPs M&E (Monitoring & Evaluation): The systematic process of tracking implementation progress against NDP targets, underpinned by the National M&E Policy approved by the Federal Executive Council Budget-Plan Linkage: The requirement that annual appropriations be aligned to and support the implementation priorities of the prevailing approved national development plan

Impact & Metrics

The NDP 2021–2025 targets the generation of 21 million full-time jobs and lifting 35 million people out of poverty by 2025 goals that depend directly on uninterrupted capital project delivery. Nigeria's history of project abandonment represents a structural drag on economic growth. The Bill, alongside the Government Performance and Accountability Bill, directly addresses this constraint by providing legislative teeth for plan enforcement. Passage would position Nigeria alongside peer economies in Africa (e.g., Rwanda, Ethiopia) that have codified planning continuity obligations into law, improving sovereign credit signals and infrastructure investor confidence.

Official Resources

National Assembly Bills Tracker: nass.gov.ng/documents/bills Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning: finance.gov.ng NDP 2021–2025 Volumes I–III: Available via FMFBNP and Nigeria Repository (nigeriareposit.nln.gov.ng) Bill Document: SB.05 — Development Planning and Project Continuity Bill, 2023 — available via National Assembly of Nigeria Contact: Office of the Deputy Senate President, National Assembly Complex, Three Arms Zone, Abuja, FCT Summary prepared using the Policy Summary Template | Sources: SB.05 (10th NASS), NDP 2021–2025 Vols I–III, Nigeria Agenda 2050, ThisDay Live, Nigerian Democratic Report | March 2026

Legal Framework

Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (Section 162 on Federation Account); Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007; Public Procurement Act 2007; Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission Act