Ministers in key infrastructure and service‑delivery ministries have expressed concern over a severe cash crunch, saying capital funding for their agencies has stalled despite a ₦10 trillion pro‑rata benchmark for 2025, The PUNCH reports.
Figures from the Budget Office of the Federation’s Medium‑Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (2026–2028) show capital releases to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) were far below allocations between January and July 2025.
Data analysed by The PUNCH show that while ₦18.53 trillion was appropriated for capital expenditure for MDAs in 2025, pro‑rata expectations for the first seven months were about ₦10.81 trillion.
However, actual capital releases to MDAs and related entities totalled just ₦834.8 billion during the period, representing approximately 7.72 per cent of the pro‑rata benchmark.
Aggregate capital spending across all sectors was also weak. Of a total ₦23.44 trillion capital outlay for 2025, pro‑rata expectations by July stood at about ₦13.67 trillion, but actual expenditure reached only ₦3.60 trillion, a shortfall of roughly 73.7 per cent.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, told the House Committee on Healthcare Services that his ministry could not implement its 2025 capital budget because only ₦36 million of the allocated ₦218 billion was released.
He said personnel costs were fully released, but capital funds were largely unreleased, preventing project roll‑out.
The Minister of Transportation, Senator Saidu Alkali, said his ministry received about one per cent of its ₦256.73 billion capital allocation for 2025. He told lawmakers that most projects had to be rolled over into the 2026 budget because of funding shortfalls.
Similarly, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, reported that only ₦202 million was released from his ministry’s ₦3.53 billion capital allocation.
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman‑Ibrahim, said just ₦394.8 million was disbursed out of ₦89.8 billion approved for her ministry’s capital budget.
During hearings before the Senate Committee on Finance, the Accountant‑General of the Federation, Dr. Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, was questioned over low capital releases, non‑payment of executed contracts and issues surrounding the Centralised Payment System. Lawmakers criticised poor budget implementation and mounting contractor debts.
Lawmakers have also highlighted the low level of Federal Government revenue performance for January to July 2025, with aggregate revenue of about ₦13.67 trillion, below the pro‑rata target of ₦23.85 trillion, partly due to underperformance in oil revenue.
