Chukwu David 
The Senate on Thursday directed Nigeria’s economic managers to submit a comprehensive report on the implementation of the 2024 budget, including projections for the capital component of the 2025 budget, within two weeks.
The directive followed a closed-door meeting lasting about one and a half hours between the Senate Committee on Finance, led by Senator Sani Musa (Niger East), and key economic officials, including Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Accountant General of the Federation, Samsudeen Ogunjimi; and Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu.
During the meeting, the Senate was informed that the presentation of the 2026 budget proposals by President Bola Tinubu would be delayed. Senator Musa noted that the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) for 2026–2029 could only proceed after the requested reports are submitted by October 23.
He said, “We have heard from the Accountant General and the Director of Budgets on the status of the budgets, payments released, and warrants signed. We expect documented evidence of the performance of 2024 and our expectations for 2025 before discussing the MTEF for 2026. The Minister of Finance has agreed to provide the progress report, and we will reconvene on October 23.”
While Minister Edun noted that the capital component of the 2024 budget recorded high performance, the DG of the Budget Office highlighted challenges, stating that budgetary implementation for 2024 and 2025 faced turbulence as some underlying assumptions were not met.
He explained, “Oil revenue, assumed at $75 per barrel, fell short by $10–$15 due to global price fluctuations. Inflation exceeded projections, affecting borrowing costs and debt service. The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2022 also impacted allocations, retaining 30% of gross oil revenue and 30% of oil and gas profits for upstream operations, while the Federal Government bears NNPC’s operating costs, reducing the Federation Account allocation by nearly 70% of previous levels. Additionally, crude oil output has been lower than projected in the MTEF approved by the National Assembly.”
The Senate’s directive underscores the need for thorough evaluation of budget performance and careful planning for upcoming fiscal cycles.
