The Senate has ordered Nigeria’s finance chiefs to submit a detailed 2024 budget report within two weeks before considering the 2026–2029 fiscal framework
Senate has directed the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Samsudeen Ogunjimi, and the Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, to submit a comprehensive report on the 2024 budget performance within two weeks.
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The upper chamber, acting through its Committee on Finance, said the report must also include projections for the capital component of the 2025 budget before any discussion of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) for 2026–2029 can begin.
The order followed a closed-door session that lasted nearly ninety minutes, chaired by Senator Mohammed Sani Musa (Niger East).
The committee’s resolution requires the three top economic officials to submit the report by October 23, a step that analysts warn could delay President Bola Tinubu’s presentation of the 2026 fiscal proposal to the National Assembly.
“The expectations we have are for the ministry to urgently present the MTEF for 2026–2029,” Musa told journalists after the meeting.
“We need documented evidence of the 2024 budget’s performance and our projections for 2025 before proceeding.”
He added that the officials had briefed the committee on payments released, warrants signed, and the authority to incur expenditure for agencies implementing capital projects, but that written confirmation was now essential.
Before the session went private, the committee heard conflicting accounts from the government’s economic team.
While Finance Minister Edun described the performance of both the 2024 and 2025 budgets as “high,” Budget Office DG Yakubu offered a more cautious view.
Yakubu noted that “most assumptions underpinning the 2024 and 2025 budgets turned out differently from projections,” citing oil price volatility, rising inflation, and the fiscal impact of the Petroleum Industry Act (2022).
He explained that oil revenue, projected at $75 per barrel, had fallen short by up to $15 due to global fluctuations, while inflation and higher borrowing costs had pushed debt servicing beyond expectations.
He further revealed that new fiscal rules under the Petroleum Industry Act had reduced Federation Account allocations by nearly 70 per cent.
The Senate’s demand for transparency comes amid mounting fiscal pressures, declining oil revenue, and escalating debt service obligations that could complicate Nigeria’s economic planning.
The MTEF/FSP, a statutory three-year fiscal blueprint under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, must be approved before the President can lay the next national budget before lawmakers.
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Analysts say the delay could disrupt Nigeria’s 2026 budget timeline, but senators insist accountability must come first.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
