Abuja: The Nigerian Senate has sounded the alarm over what it describes as a troubling fiscal anomaly — the implementation of multiple budgets within the 2025 fiscal year.
During an interactive session with the Federal Government’s economic management team on the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), lawmakers warned that the practice undermines transparency, deepens revenue shortfalls, and erodes public confidence.
With a staggering ₦30 trillion gap in projected revenue and 70 percent of capital projects now rolled over into 2026, senators pressed for urgent reforms to restore normalcy and credibility to Nigeria’s budgetary process.
Senator Danjuma Goje, in his remarks, said that the practice of implementing multiple budgets in a single year was unacceptable to Nigerians.
” This ugly situation we found ourselves in multiple budget implementations should please end by this year. It is not acceptable. Things must be normalised from next year “, he said.
Senator Oyewumi Olalere stressed the need for the government to present a realistic proposal to avoid non-budget implementation, which results in multiple implementations in subsequent years.
“Since budgetary proposals are not given to the government by the governed, the government should please present realisable proposals to avoid non-implementations spilling into subsequent years.
Senators Victor Umeh and Ireti Kingibe, in their remarks, wondered why the federal government had not filled the revenue gaps, despite the National Assembly approving borrowings for it.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, had, in his explanations on projections for the 2026 budget and the implementation of the 2024 and 2025 budgets, said that revenues for the 2024 budget had been met.
Edun, however, noted that the 2025 revenue projection had yet to be realised.
“Funding for the capital components of the 2024 budget has been met through the realisation of the total projection of N26 trillion revenue, but that of 2025 has not been met.
“Out of the projected N40 trillion revenue for the 2025 fiscal year, only N10 trillion has been realised, leaving a shortfall of N30 trillion, consequently making the federal government roll over 70 per cent of capital projects captured in the 2025 fiscal year to 2026,” he said.
Chairman of the committee, Sen. Sani Musa, assured the lawmakers and Nigerians that the required normalcy in budget projections and implementation would be attained in 2026.
He said the ad hoc committee would liaise with the minister and the Accountant-General of the Federation on the payment of local contractors for projects executed in 2024 before the budget expires on Dec. 31.
Musa urged the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr Zacch Adedeji, to work towards achieving the N35 trillion targeted revenue for the 2026 fiscal year, as against the earlier projection of N31 trillion.
Adedeji had said in his speech that FIRS realised N20.2 trillion in 2024 and N25.2 trillion in 2025.
He, however, said that the enormous revenue realised by the FIRS and other agencies, such as the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), was utilised to cover the shortfall in revenue in previous budget implementations.
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu and Minister of State for Petroleum, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, in their respective submissions, defended the parameters set for the 2026-2028 MTEF and FSP.
The parameters, according to them, are: 1.84 million barrels of oil production per day, a 64.85-dollar oil price benchmark, and N1,512.00 to one dollar as the exchange rate, among others.