.Uncertainty rises over 2026 budget
ONE month to the end of 2025, President Bola Tinubu’s government is yet to implement the 2024 budget fully and has left this year’s fiscal plan in limbo, stalling several programmes that should uplift the lives of citizens, Economy Post understands.
The Nigerian government announced it would begin the implementation of the 2024 national budget in September 2025, upsetting the January to December cycle that was maintained by the previous administration of late Muhammadu Buhari.
“The implementation of the 2025 budget will begin by the end of September. The budget aims to address critical sectors, boost economic growth, and improve public services. Effective execution and fiscal discipline will be vital to its success,” said Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr Tanimu Yakubu, on September 12, during the 3rd Quarter Ministerial Stakeholders and Citizens Engagement Forum, hosted by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning in Abuja.
However, some Budget Office of Nigeria insiders told Economy Post that the Tinubu administration was yet to even implement the 2024 budget fully, noting that “the government will begin the implementation of 2025 budget early next year.” The last time the agency published information on the 2024 budget was in September 2025, when it revealed the implementation details of the half-year 2024 budget.
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In October, FIJ reported that the Nigerian government had disbursed only 32.28 percent of its 2024 capital budget as of June 2025, six months after the budget was supposed to have run its course.
For much of the year, several government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have been cash-trapped, with many unable to execute projects meant for the year. A number of contractors are yet to receive payment for the work done, while many who secured loans to executive contracts are strugglng to repay their facilities.
On November 6, aggrieved local contractors, lawyers and civil society activists barricaded the major entry and exit points of the National Assembly complex in protest over a N3 trillion debt owed them by the Nigerian government.
Speaking during the protest, National President of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria, Mr Jackson Nwosu, said the group was left with no choice due to the government’s unmet promises.
“We are here because the Federal Government refused to pay contractors and we have brought the case to the parliament to address our grievances,” he said.
“This thing are capital projects that had already been executed and we have been pushing for payment since 2024. They are owing our association alone over N3 trillion.”
According to Mr Nwosu, the group had had meetings with Federal Ministry of Finance, the Accountant General of the Federation and even met with the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Benjamin Kalu, sometime around September 4, yet nothing came out of the meetings.
“But we have heard that the problem is from the Presidency. Yesterday, a senator came to assure us that our matter will be looked into. So, we will continue to block the entrance of the National Assembly until we get our alerts.”
The major but understated problem is that President Tinubu’s administration has upset the January to December budget cycle that was labouriosly achieved after 12 years under late President Buhari.
Apart from years 2001 and 2007, Nigeria had the signing of its annual budgets delayed late into a new fiscal year since 1999, resulting in poor implementation of the budget. But this was corrected and returned to the January-December cycle in 2019 when late President Muhammadu Buhari’s administation was finalising the 2020 budget.
“The January to December cycle encourages certainty and helps investors to understand the government’s direction for the following year,” said an economist, Mr Patrick Osuagwu.
“It provides the certainty needed by all economic agents to plan and make projections.”
Big budgets with little impact
The Nigerian government’s 2024 budget stood at N28. 77 trillion as against N21. 83 trillion in 2023. The 2025 budget of N54.9 trillion was more than double of what was earmarked for 2024. Despite the large sizes of these budgets, the welfare of the people has yet to improve.
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About 63 percent of persons living within Nigeria, which is equivalent to 133 million citizens, were multidimensionally poor as of 2022, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). About 65 percent of the poor (86 million people) lived in the North, while 35 percent (nearly 47 million) reside in the South.
However, the World Bank said in its ‘Nigeria Development Update’ released in October 2025 that though growth had picked up and revenues and reserves were rising, poverty had worsened in Africa’s most populous nation.
“In 2025 we estimate that 139 million Nigerians live in poverty. So, the challenge is clear, how to translate the gains from the stabilisation reforms into better living standards for all,” said World Bank’s Country Director, Mr Mathew Verghis.
Chief executive officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr Muda Yusuf, warned that persistent delays in budget implementation would always weaken the integrity of Nigeria’s budgeting process while creating uncertainty.
He said, “There’s a huge gap between what is appropriated in the budget and what we have the capacity to fund in terms of actual revenue,” noting that the situation was abnormal and eroded investor confidence.
