National Assembly suspends Finance Ministry’s 2025 contract award directives over fears of irregular spending.
Lawmakers demand full approval before MDAs can begin capital projects to protect Nigeria’s budget process.
The National Assembly has directed the Federal Government to withdraw all circulars already issued for contract awards under the 2025 budget, faulting the Ministry of Finance for releasing guidelines ahead of due authorization.
The resolution was jointly adopted on Thursday by the Senate and House Committees on Appropriations after a closed-door session with President Bola Tinubu’s economic team at the National Assembly.
Reading the resolution, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Ogun West), stressed that only the issuance of an Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE) legally empowers Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to commence capital spending.
“Circulars issued by the Ministry of Finance to the MDAs should be withdrawn pending issuance of AIE,” Adeola declared.
Lawmakers raised concerns that premature directives could encourage irregular spending and worsen Nigeria’s persistent challenge of budget rollover, where capital projects are left incomplete across fiscal years.
As part of the resolution, the legislature agreed that the capital component of the 2024 budget would remain in effect until December 31, 2025, while insisting that implementation of the 2025 capital budget must commence immediately after formal approval.
The session was attended by key fiscal managers, including:
Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu; Accountant-General of the Federation, Samsudeen Ogunjimi; and Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu.
Lawmakers pressed the officials to explain why guidelines were issued before proper authorization, warning that such actions risk undermining the credibility of the budget process amid high inflation, dwindling reserves, and mounting debt.
Following the resolution, both committees and the executive team reconvened in a closed-door meeting. No official objection from the government’s side was recorded at the end of the session.
