Lack Of Budget Release Crippling Activities At Transport Ministry — Minister

Activities at the Ministry of Transportation have remained stagnant over the past year as the lack of budget release from the accountant general’s office hit harder.

The minister of transportation, Senator Said Ahmed Alkali, while addressing the National Assembly joint committee on Land Transportation, said the 2025 budget performance across key transport agencies was low due to lack of capital releases, stressing that the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT) and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) received no capital funding, with allocations limited to overheads for maintenance and rehabilitation.

The minister revealed that the ministry received only one per cent of its approved capital budget for the year 2025.

On budget performance, Alkali said the ministry recorded about 59 per cent overhead utilisation in 2025, while capital releases stood at roughly one per cent and were largely not cash-backed.

He added that NITT and the Federal University of Transportation, Daura, recorded average overhead utilisation of about 57 per cent with no capital releases, while the NRC posted 58 per cent overhead performance under similar constraints.

Meanwhile, the joint legislative committee has commended the Federal Ministry of Transportation for its performance in 2025 despite receiving only about one per cent of its approved capital budget.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Adamu Aliero, alongside the co-chair, Rep. Blessing Onyeche Onuh, described the ministry’s performance as impressive given the severe funding constraints and delayed cash backing experienced in the 2025 fiscal year.

“This is apt and forward-thinking. You have secured private-sector funding commitments of about 200 million dollars despite receiving just one per cent of last year’s budget,” Aliero said, noting that “It is a good achievement and a positive outlook for the sector.”

Also speaking, Hon. Onuh described the minister’s presentation as detailed and explanatory, adding that the committee was already familiar with the budget performance challenges.

Earlier, Senator Alkali had explained that the 2026 budget proposal largely consolidates the 2025 Appropriation, with about 70 per cent of projects rolled over into the new fiscal year due to funding constraints and delayed cash backing.

He said the rolled-over items had been reviewed and aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, with emphasis on completing ongoing projects, protecting public investments, and sustaining momentum in the land transport sector.