Nigerian ministries and agencies received less than 1 trillion naira for capital projects in the first seven months of 2025, far below budgeted levels, according to government data, underscoring mounting funding pressures on infrastructure and service delivery.
Figures from the Budget Office of the Federation’s Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for 2026–2028 show that while 18.53 trillion naira was appropriated for capital expenditure for “ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and others” in 2025, the pro rata benchmark for January through July stood at 10.81 trillion naira.
Actual capital releases to MDAs during the period totaled 834.8 billion naira, representing 7.72% of the pro rata target and leaving a shortfall of nearly 9.98 trillion naira.
Overall capital spending also trailed expectations. Aggregate capital expenditure for 2025 was set at 23.44 trillion naira, with a pro rata expectation of 13.67 trillion naira by July. Actual capital spending across government stood at 3.60 trillion naira, a 73.7% shortfall relative to the benchmark.
The Budget Office acknowledged weak implementation. “Capital expenditure implementation was notably weak,” the document said, attributing the low releases partly to efforts to meet the extended 2024 capital budget, which runs through December 2025.
Revenue performance has also lagged. Federal government revenue between January and July totaled 13.67 trillion naira, below the pro rata target of 23.85 trillion naira. Oil revenue underperformed, offsetting gains in some non-oil taxes such as company income tax and value-added tax.
Of the 3.60 trillion naira recorded as total capital spending in the seven months, 834.8 billion naira — about 23% — went directly to MDAs. A larger share, 1.68 trillion naira, was tied to multilateral and bilateral project loans, highlighting the government’s reliance on externally linked financing.
Several ministers have publicly cited severe funding shortfalls.
Health Minister Mohammed Pate told lawmakers that only 36 million naira of the 218 billion naira appropriated for capital projects in 2025 had been released to the health sector. He attributed the shortfall to cash flow constraints and systemic bottlenecks in budget execution.
Transportation Minister Saidu Alkali said his ministry received about 1% of its 256.73 billion naira capital allocation, forcing nearly 70% of projects to be rolled over into 2026.
Marine and Blue Economy Minister Adegboyega Oyetola said his ministry received 202 million naira of its 3.53 billion naira capital allocation, or 1.7%. Women Affairs Minister Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim told senators that only 394.8 million naira of 89.8 billion naira approved for capital spending was released.
Lawmakers have criticized the pace of releases. During a budget defense session, members of the Senate Committee on Finance questioned the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, over zero or minimal capital allocations to some MDAs and rising complaints from contractors over unpaid projects.
Ogunjimi said disbursements depend on available funds and blamed indiscriminate contract awards without confirmed funding. He noted that the government no longer relies on central bank “Ways and Means” advances to cover shortfalls.
Budget and Economic Planning Minister Abubakar Bagudu rejected claims that the 2025 budget is in disarray, saying revenue pressures are not unusual and citing global economic headwinds. He acknowledged that Nigeria faces challenges in raising revenue to fully fund obligations, particularly debt service, but said reforms are aimed at stabilizing public finances.
Analysts have criticized delays in publishing up-to-date budget performance data and questioned transparency standards, particularly as capital implementation continues to lag well behind approved allocations.
