A public policy and governance advocacy group, Citizens Media and Development Network (CIMEDEN), has cautioned that without a more “aggressive and strategic approach” to implementing capital budgets, President Bola Tinubu’s government may struggle to provide a critical infrastructure capable of transforming the economy and improving the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
In a statement signed by its Director, Mr Samuel Odaudu, and made available to journalists in Abuja over the weekend, CIMEDEN noted that Nigeria’s longstanding poor implementation of capital budgets since 1999 has stunted economic growth and perpetuated underdevelopment.
“The Nigerian economy, along with the reforms of President Tinubu’s government—no matter how well-intended—may not achieve desired outcomes if it continues the trajectory of poor capital budget handling seen in previous administrations,” the group said.
It warned that failure to address this issue could exacerbate multidimensional poverty instead of creating jobs and wealth for vulnerable citizens.
The group’s concerns followed revelations at the National Assembly last week, where the Presidential Economic Team, led by Finance Minister Wale Edun, disclosed that the 2024 capital budget performance was only 25%.
This figure contrasts sharply with the near 100% implementation of recurrent expenditure during the same period, despite improvements in non-oil revenue collection.
CIMEDEN emphasised that capital budgets are pivotal for developing essential infrastructure such as roads, railways, electricity, health, education, and ports, which drive economic growth.
However, it criticised Nigeria’s budgetary system, arguing that it has been skewed towards sustaining a corrupt and visionless bureaucracy across all levels of government, thereby stifling development.
“President Tinubu’s prioritisation of capital expenditure over recurrent expenditure in the 2024 budget was a historic step,” the group acknowledged. “Yet, the abysmal 25% implementation rate undermines the potential benefits of this policy shift.”
It attributed the poor performance to insufficient cash backing for capital projects, ineffective monitoring, and corruption within bureaucratic systems.
CIMEDEN urged President Tinubu to initiate reforms to ensure full implementation of capital budgets, stressing that “a national budget is a law that must be implemented.”
