The House of Representatives on Wednesday summoned Nigeria’s economic managers over alleged non-implementation of the 2025 capital budget, despite what lawmakers described as improved revenues and excess earnings recorded during the fiscal year.
Those summoned were the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, and the Chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service, Mr. Zach Adedeji.
The lawmakers, meeting under the House Committee on Appropriation, expressed anger over what they described as zero releases for capital components of the 2025 budget, a situation they said had stalled projects and slowed economic activities across ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
Chairman of the Committee, Abubakar Bichi Abubakar explained that the interface was convened to examine the poor performance of the 2025 budget and to scrutinise proposals for the 2026 fiscal year.
According to him, the committee needed clarity on why capital funds were not released despite revenue growth. He disclosed that government revenue in 2025 rose to about N28 trillion, surpassing the N25 trillion target.
“We decided to engage the President’s economic team to discuss the performance of the 2025 budget as well as the proposed 2026 estimates,” Bichi said, adding that Nigerians deserved transparency on how revenues were being managed.
The lawmakers further recalled that the National Assembly had approved an executive request for N1.15 trillion to fund parts of the 2025 capital budget, questioning why implementation remained at zero despite legislative approval.
Edun attributed the situation to government’s decision to halt what he described as “unsustainable” practices, including financing obligations through excessive money printing.
He explained that the administration inherited huge liabilities, including naira-denominated debt of about N152 trillion, partly arising from exchange rate adjustments and previously unrecorded obligations.
Bagudu said engagements with the National Assembly had allowed for the rollover of about 70 per cent of the 2025 capital allocation into 2026, which he said had been incorporated into the 2026 budget proposal.
He also maintained that his ministry depended on data from the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to track budget implementation.
Defending his agency, Adedeji told the committee that the revenue service exceeded its 2025 target, generating N28.23 trillion against a projected N25.2 trillion.
The explanations, however, failed to satisfy many lawmakers with some members of the committee expressing dissatisfaction with Edun, Bagudu and the Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite on the implementation of the budget.
Bichi who appealed for calm and announced the suspension of the sitting pending the appearance of the Minister of State for Finance and adjourned the hearing to today at 1 p.m.
Lawmakers cited earlier testimony by the Minister of Health, Ali Pate, who reportedly disclosed that his ministry received only N38 million out of the N286 billion allocated in the 2025 budget.
Recall that the Association of Indigenous Contractors in Nigeria earlier protested at the Ministry of Finance in January over alleged non-payment of more than N4 trillion for contracts executed under the 2024 budget.
