December 15, (THEWILL) — The Federal Government’s decision, through the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, to defer the implementation of 70 percent of capital projects initially appropriated in the 2025 fiscal year to 2026, is seen as potential fiscal chaos amid pending, overlapping items that run through 2023-2025.
Although experts have cautiously endorsed the proposed 2026 FG budget as outlined in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) recently approved by the Federal Executive Council, concerns are being raised over a budget system that has pending, overlapping items through four distinct fiscal years.
The 2023 supplementary budget which extended into 2024 remains active. The 2024 capital budget was first extended to June 2025, and again, pushed to December 2025. This blurs the distinction between one year and the next. Amid delay in publishing the 2025 Implementation Report under the Responsibility Act, the scenario is weakening the transparency framework needed to understand the fiscal culture that supports or distorts the monetary policy strategies.
THEWILL recalls that the 2025 Appropriation Bill arrived almost three months behind schedule, The National Assembly subsequently passed the bill which stood at N47.9 trillion. Other amendments raised it to N54.99 trillion, according to the Budget Office summary of June 2025.
Despite the large scope, there are still invisible implementations of the capital projects so far. Data from the Budget Office showed that less than 30 percent of the capital components had been released by the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) as of September 2025, apparently responsible for shifting 70 percent of the 2025 capital budgets to 2026.
In a statement on Sunday, December 14, 2025, BudgIT, a leading civic-tech organisation promoting transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s public finance, expressed concerns over the development, maintaining that a positive change of implementation culture on the part of the FG is doubtful.
“From our analysis, while this development is not entirely surprising, we hold cautious reservations about the implications of this decision. The deferment suggests that the Federal Government intends to limit the number of capital projects under implementation, to use available funds more efficiently, prioritise critical projects, and reduce the long-standing problem of abandoned projects.
“In this sense, the move appears to be an attempt to retain the 2025 capital projects—many of which are based on existing economic plans and strategies—rather than introduce an entirely new set of projects in the next fiscal year,” the group said in the statement signed by Nancy Odimegwu, Senior Communications Associate.
BudgIT, said it views this as an effort by the Federal Government to “restructure” the sequencing of capital project implementation. “Rather than rolling out a fresh budget filled with new capital projects, the government appears to be attempting a reset by carrying forward existing projects and improving implementation discipline,” it said, emphasising, however, that if properly managed, the approach could help salvage a challenging fiscal situation and strengthen budget credibility.
However, doubts rule over the poor implementation habits of the fiscal authorities resulting in the present logjam over existing four Appropriation Acts.
BudgIT has consistently raised concerns about Nigeria’s budgeting process, particularly the government’s failure to adhere to the approved budget calendar and its practice of running multiple fiscal programmes concurrently. It maintains that these practices create significant room for waste, inefficiency, and abuse of public resources.
“We have maintained that budget timelines must be treated as sacrosanct and that unfinished but still relevant projects should be consolidated through a supplementary budget passed within the same fiscal year, rather than endlessly rolled over. “Consequently, the continued inclusion of numerous uncoordinated and low-priority projects has bloated federal capital expenditure and increased public debt, often without clear developmental value.
“This pattern weakens the impact of capital investment, as spending decisions increasingly appear driven by project insertions rather than sound planning, prioritisation, and fiscal discipline. This is compounded by the fact that the federal government does not publish disaggregated reports on capital expenditure implementation. So, citizens are at a loss in knowing precisely what has or has not been implemented,” the group emphasised.
“In light of these, BudgIT stresses that this decision to defer capital project implementation must be robustly defended during the upcoming budget defence sessions at the National Assembly. The Executive arm of government must clearly demonstrate to the Legislature that this action is necessary to restore order to Nigeria’s fiscal framework and to end the damaging practice of implementing multiple budgets concurrently.
“By the time the annual Appropriation Act is passed by the National Assembly and transmitted for presidential assent, it is often heavily bloated with additional projects. While the National Assembly’s power to increase or decrease the budget is constitutionally recognised, BudgIT has long argued that this power has been widely abused, often disregarding fiscal planning and national development priorities.”
Commenting on the development, BudgIT’s Deputy Country Director, Vahyala Kwaga, underscored the need for discipline and clarity in implementing the deferment. “Deferring 70 per cent of capital projects is neither a solution nor a setback on its own. What matters is whether this decision marks a clear break from the cycle of bloated budgets, overlapping fiscal years, and weak project implementation. Without strict adherence to budget timelines, proper fiscal closure, and transparent payment processes, the risk is that we simply postpone inefficiencies rather than resolve them,” Kwaga said.
“In addition, we urge the Federal Government to fully adhere to its ‘Bottom-Up Cash Plan’ as outlined by the Federal Ministry of Finance. This approach—where payments are made directly to verified contractors rather than routed through MDAs—has the potential to improve efficiency and accountability in capital project implementation. The government must ensure strict compliance with payment protocols, contractor verification processes, and timely disbursement of funds.
“To this end, we call on the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, the Budget Office of the Federation, the Bureau of Public Procurement, relevant MDAs, and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to uphold the principles of transparency, legal compliance, and accountability in the management of public funds and public projects. We also encourage citizens, civil society, the private sector, and the media to actively support and scrutinise capital expenditure implementation, as the benefits of effective public spending ultimately accrue to all Nigerians”.
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
