BudgIT, Nigeria’s leading civic-tech advocate for fiscal transparency, has raised the alarm over the Federal Government’s 2025 budget, asserting that the N54.9 trillion appropriation exceeds the legally permissible limit by over N3 trillion—an infraction that the organisation warns could undermine fiscal discipline and statutory compliance.
In a strongly worded critique, BudgIT described the budget’s formulation as “legally questionable” and decried the persistent absence of critical disclosures, particularly with regard to its revenue framework. The organisation said the opaque adjustments made to the spending plan are in breach of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) of 2007, which governs the legal thresholds of public expenditure.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu initially presented a draft budget of N47.9 trillion to the National Assembly. That figure was later raised to N54.2 trillion via a presidential communication citing optimistic revenue forecasts. However, the National Assembly further expanded the envelope to N54.9 trillion—an increment that was neither accompanied by macroeconomic data nor justified through public documentation.
“This level of discretionary adjustment, absent of transparency and analytical backing, is not only troubling but legally problematic,” BudgIT stated. “The Fiscal Responsibility Act clearly restricts total spending to the sum of projected revenues and a deficit not exceeding 3% of GDP.”
Citing the Budget Office’s 2025 GDP projection of N338 trillion, BudgIT noted that the lawful expenditure ceiling should have been capped at N51.95 trillion. The current figure overshoots that threshold by more than N3 trillion, in what the organisation termed “a clear violation of Section 12 of the FRA.”
That section reads in part: “Aggregate expenditure and the aggregate amount appropriated by the National Assembly for each financial year shall not be more than the estimated aggregate revenue plus a deficit not exceeding 3% of the estimated Gross Domestic Product or any sustainable percentage as may be determined by the National Assembly.”
Beyond legal overreach, BudgIT also criticised the administration’s continued failure to release a detailed breakdown of projected revenues for the 2025 fiscal year. Despite public references to potential revenue sources, no comprehensive data has been disclosed to enable public or expert scrutiny.
Further compounding the opacity, the most recent Budget Implementation Report made available by the Budget Office of the Federation only covers the second quarter of 2024—despite multiple formal requests for more current data. This, BudgIT warned, raises serious concerns about the government’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and open governance.
“The lack of timely, detailed financial reporting not only hampers civil oversight but also contravenes the principles of fiscal responsibility enshrined in law,” the group said.
As Nigeria contends with mounting debt obligations and revenue fragility, analysts say the absence of fiscal discipline and clarity could erode investor confidence and further strain macroeconomic stability. BudgIT has urged the National Assembly and fiscal authorities to adhere strictly to statutory provisions and re-establish a framework of credibility, transparency, and legal fidelity in the national budgeting process.
