CSJ accuses FG, NASS of fiscal recklessness over repeated budget rollovers - The Guardian Nigeria News

The Federal Government and the National Assembly have come under fresh scrutiny over the extension of the implementation of the 2025 capital budget to December 2026, with the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) warning that repeated delays and rollovers are depriving Nigerians of critical infrastructure and public services.

The development means that part of the 2025 capital budget will remain under implementation more than a year after the budget was originally authorised, raising fresh questions over the government’s capacity to execute its capital spending plans within approved fiscal timelines.

In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, and signed by its Lead Director, Eze Onykpere, CSJ said the National Assembly, acting on the prompting of the Executive, approved the extension of the timeframe for implementing the 2025 capital budget to December 2026.

The organisation said the latest extension was particularly troubling because the 2024 capital budget had similarly been extended to December 2025, while the implementation of the 2023 capital budget was also rolled over.

According to CSJ, only 30 per cent of the 2025 capital vote is now being extended, while Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) had earlier been directed to roll over the remaining 70 per cent of the 2025 capital vote, which subsequently formed the foundation of the 2026 capital budget.

The group argued that the repeated rollover of capital expenditure was not merely an accounting or administrative matter, stressing that capital expenditure covers projects and equipment directly linked to the welfare and security of citizens.

It listed security equipment and ammunition, schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, electricity, agriculture, water resources and other infrastructure as areas dependent on effective capital budget implementation.

CSJ’s position effectively puts the spotlight on the gap between budget approval and actual delivery of projects, particularly at a time when the government is seeking stronger economic growth and investment.

The organisation recalled that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his 2026 Budget Speech, stated that infrastructure was essential for jobs and enterprises to scale.

Yet, CSJ said, there was still no clear word on the implementation of the 2026 capital budget, while the 2027-2029 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which should provide the basis for the 2027 Appropriation Bill, had not been prepared and laid before the National Assembly as of September 30, 2026.

The situation, it argued, contrasts sharply with the President’s stated commitment to stronger budget discipline.

Tinubu had pledged in his 2026 Budget Speech that the year would be marked by stronger discipline in budget execution and said he had directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Director-General of the Budget Office to ensure strict implementation of the 2026 Budget according to approved details and timelines.

CSJ also disclosed that it had, on September 10, 2026, written to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives over the implementation of the 2025 and 2026 capital budgets.

It said it had received no response from the officials addressed in the letter.

The organisation described the emerging fiscal situation as a serious accountability problem, arguing that prolonged delays in capital budget execution ultimately translate into delayed infrastructure, weaker service delivery and lost opportunities for citizens and businesses.

 Onyekpere, went further, accusing the Executive and the National Assembly of failing to discharge their respective responsibilities in ensuring that appropriated funds translate into tangible public goods.

He questioned the effectiveness of legislative oversight where the National Assembly fails to adequately check the Executive’s budget implementation.

The group also called on public officials responsible for what it described as the poor state of fiscal execution to consider resignation if they were unwilling or unable to perform the responsibilities attached to their offices. It further demanded an apology and guarantees against a recurrence.

The latest controversy therefore raises a broader question over the credibility of Nigeria’s annual budgeting process: what value does parliamentary appropriation have if major portions of approved capital spending repeatedly spill into subsequent fiscal years?

For businesses, workers and communities waiting for roads, power infrastructure, schools, hospitals, water projects and other public investments, the issue goes beyond the technical classification of a budget as “extended.”

It is ultimately about whether appropriated public resources are being converted into infrastructure and services within the periods approved by the nation’s fiscal authorities.

The CSJ statement also places renewed pressure on both the Executive and the National Assembly to provide Nigerians with transparent information on the status of the 2025 capital projects, the actual level of implementation of the 2026 capital budget and the timetable for completing outstanding projects.

Without such disclosure, repeated extensions risk making annual capital appropriations less of a firm implementation timetable and more of a rolling commitment whose delivery can be pushed forward from one fiscal year to another.