The Senate on Thursday took the Federal Government’s economic team to task over what it described as persistent poor budget implementation, particularly the inadequate release of capital funds to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
The concerns were raised during an interactive session between the Senate Committee on Appropriations and key members of the government’s economic management team on the implementation of the N58.472 trillion 2026 budget. The meeting also reviewed plans to complete the capital components of the 2024 and 2025 budgets before March 31, 2026.
The session was presided over by the committee chairman, Solomon Adeola.
Responding to questions on funding for the outstanding capital components of the 2024 and 2025 budgets, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, explained that both budgets were still being funded. However, several lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction with what they considered a vague response.
Also addressing the panel, Zacch Adedeji, chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), attributed the funding challenges to unrealistic revenue projections.
“Budget funding must come from realistic projections. Efficiency is not about the size of the budget but about how much can actually be implemented,” Adedeji said.
He warned that overestimating available revenue could lead to serious fiscal problems if projected funds fail to materialise.
In his remarks, Adeola pushed back, noting that the revenue projections under scrutiny originated from the executive arm of government.
“This document before us came from the executive. The projections and the challenges are from the executive, not the legislature. The gap between projected and realised oil revenue remains wide,” he said.
He questioned the basis for ambitious performance targets, citing instances where actual revenue performance stood at 18 percent in one year, yet projections for the following year were raised to 36.5 percent despite continued underperformance.
The committee chairman also raised concerns about rising debt levels, suggesting that asset sales could help reduce the debt burden and lower future borrowing costs.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite, assured lawmakers that implementation of the capital components of the 2024 and 2025 budgets would be completed before the March 31, 2026 deadline.
She disclosed that payments for outstanding 2024 capital projects would commence immediately, adding that the financial management system was now fully operational.
“For the 2025 budget, MDAs have been directed to upload their cash plans by Monday. Once that is done, payments will begin. We are ready to proceed, but MDAs must complete all necessary documentation,” she said.
Following the open session, the committee went into a closed-door meeting with the economic team for about two hours. Also present were the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, and the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi.