Consultant accuses Finance Ministry of prioritising salaries over capital projects

Legislative consultant, Mr Akinloye Oyeniyi, has accused the Ministry of Finance of deliberately prioritising salaries and recurrent expenditure over capital spending, a practice he says is crippling development and undermining the implementation of Nigeria’s 2025 budget.

In an interview with Arise News on Saturday, Mr Oyeniyi raised concerns about the performance of Nigeria’s 2024 and 2025 budgets. He alleged that ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) are being denied access to critical capital funds necessary for infrastructure and other development projects, while recurrent expenditures such as salaries and administrative costs continue uninterrupted.

“See, this is what we are talking about. When you have a budget in this form, there’s no way the nation can move forward,” he said, highlighting the structural imbalance between recurrent and capital spending.

Mr Oyeniyi explained that recurrent expenditures cover day-to-day operational costs for MDAs, such as running offices, paying staff, and managing administrative needs. In contrast, capital expenditures fund projects like construction, renovations, and other physical development initiatives.

He noted that budget implementation initially ran smoothly in 2023, but issues began emerging in 2024. “We started seeing glitches, where recurrent allocations were released, but capital funds were withheld,” he said. This pattern, he added, persisted into 2025, with public complaints from ministers about severely limited capital disbursements.

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“You can see the Minister of Health and the Minister of Social Affairs stating that only N36 million of their respective 2025 budgets have been released out of billions allocated. This is a major concern,” Mr Oyeniyi noted.

He argued that prioritising salaries and administrative expenses over capital projects stalls national progress. “You can be buying vehicles, computers, and funding operations, but if the main aspect of the budget, the capital, is neglected, the nation cannot move forward.”

Oyeniyi placed the responsibility squarely on the presidency and the Finance Ministry, dismissing previous claims that delays were caused by the former accountant-general. “We have a new accountant-general now, and the funds are still not being released. We don’t know what is actually happening,” he said.

Highlighting legislative efforts, he explained that the National Assembly has repeatedly summoned finance officials to explain the lack of capital allocations. “The Minister of Finance has been repeatedly asked why CAPEX funds are not being released, yet the problem persists, forcing the government to consolidate multiple budgets for implementation.”

He alleged that the Ministry of Finance is intentionally holding back capital funds while releasing recurrent spending to avoid civil unrest. Federal contracts have protested twice in Abuja over debts.

“When you hold on to capital, it does not immediately disrupt government operations. But delaying salaries or recurrent payments would create chaos,” Mr Oyeniyi said.

Last month, the federal government confirmed that it released about N152 billion to indigenous contractors for duly verified projects, as it sought to calm rising tensions following repeated protests over unpaid claims at the Ministry of Finance in Abuja. However, contractors said they would continue protests until their debt was fully paid.

Protests from federal contractors over unpaid bills, which he referenced, underscore the economic strain caused by withheld capital funds. “Lawyers representing contractors protested because their clients haven’t been paid by the federal government. This is a clear consequence of CAPEX delays,” he explained.

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Mr Oyeniyi warned that withholding capital funds undermines public trust and the effectiveness of government programmes. “Why hold on to CAPEX? It prevents Nigerians from enjoying the dividends of democracy and, in effect, sabotages government efforts,” he said, noting that constituency projects by lawmakers, such as the Zona Intervention Projects (ZIPs), are also affected.

Rejecting claims that Nigerians are indifferent, Mr Oyeniyi stressed that both citizens and lawmakers are raising concerns. “The situation is getting worse, and we cannot normalise it. It is our money, and these projects are for the people. The funds should be released immediately.”

He concluded by calling for decisive action from the presidency. “Even personally, I believe this matter should be addressed at the highest level. The withholding of capital funds is a failure of governance, not just misjudgment,” Oyeniyi said.