A review of Nigeria’s public finances has raised concerns that the budgeting process under President Bola Tinubu has drifted away from key principles such as transparency, accountability, fiscal discipline, and predictability, with critics arguing that political interests have increasingly shaped budget implementation.
According to the analysis, repeated budget extensions, overlapping appropriations, alleged budget padding, and ghost allocations have weakened the credibility of the country’s fiscal framework. The controversy surrounding the alleged inclusion of the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) in the 2026 budget has further fueled concerns over the integrity of the appropriation process.
The report also highlights Nigeria’s growing fiscal imbalance. Between 2020 and 2024, the Federal Government accumulated N33.42 trillion in net budget-financing debt while spending N23.66 trillion on capital projects, resulting in a 70.8 per cent capital expenditure-to-net debt ratio. This suggests that nearly N10 trillion of borrowed funds went toward recurrent expenditure rather than infrastructure development, contrary to the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
Over the five-year period, capital spending translated to about N109,000 per Nigerian, a figure critics argue reflects limited infrastructure investment despite rising public debt.
Although retained revenue improved significantly under Tinubu—from N7.7 trillion in 2022 to N20.98 trillion in 2024—analysts contend that much of the increase has been driven by higher taxes and subsidy removal rather than broad-based economic growth. They argue that infrastructure spending has continued to lag behind borrowing, while fiscal deficits remain high.
The report further criticises delays in budget implementation and the continuation of overlapping fiscal cycles, noting that some projects approved under the 2023 budget are reportedly yet to be completed or fully paid for. It warns that the lack of timely budget performance reports and unresolved allegations of ghost allocations have eroded public confidence in the government’s fiscal management.
With the 2026 Appropriation Act now expanded to N68.3 trillion, concerns are mounting over the realism of revenue projections, increasing debt obligations, and whether the government can restore transparency and accountability to Nigeria’s budgeting process.
