Growing frustration over the poor implementation of the 2024, 2025 and 2026 budgets has triggered anxiety among members of the House of Representatives, with many fearing that stalled constituency projects could jeopardise their re-election prospects ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The concerns boiled over during Tuesday’s plenary as lawmakers engaged in a heated debate over the persistent delay in the release of appropriated funds to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), exposing widening cracks in the relationship between the National Assembly and the Executive.

Although Speaker Tajudeen Abbas prevented an attempt to summon President Bola Ahmed Tinubu before the House, the debate reflected deep frustration among lawmakers across party lines over what they described as the shoddy implementation of budgets passed by Parliament.

For many legislators, the issue has become more than a governance concern. It is now a political survival issue.

Several members who have secured tickets to seek re-election in 2027 are worried they may have little or nothing to campaign with if constituency and zonal intervention projects remain abandoned due to lack of funding.

Across the country, lawmakers traditionally rely on completed roads, schools, health centres, water schemes and other federal projects executed in their constituencies as evidence of performance before voters.

However, many of those projects have either stalled or are yet to commence because funds approved in the Appropriation Acts have not been released.

The anxiety is even greater among lawmakers who lost their party primaries.

Some of them privately blamed their inability to secure return tickets on the poor implementation of constituency projects, arguing that they were unable to convince delegates and constituents that they had attracted meaningful federal presence to their areas.

The situation worsened following reports of a Treasury circular allegedly issued by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation suspending payments for zonal intervention projects pending fresh verification requirements.

Lawmakers argued that the directive effectively froze projects that had already been approved by the National Assembly and awarded through due process.

Many described the development as a major setback capable of erasing years of constituency engagement and weakening public confidence in elected representatives.

The lawmakers also expressed concern that Nigeria is effectively implementing three budgets simultaneously.
According to them, significant portions of the 2024 and 2025 budgets remain unfunded even as implementation of the 2026 Appropriation Act has commenced.

They warned that the delays are increasing project costs, frustrating contractors and denying communities the benefits of critical infrastructure.
The plight of indigenous contractors also featured prominently during the debate.

Members noted that many contractors who completed government projects remain unpaid despite borrowing heavily from financial institutions to execute the contracts.

They warned that the continued delays are pushing businesses toward insolvency, increasing non-performing loans and discouraging local participation in government projects.

The lawmakers further questioned why the funding challenges persist despite President Tinubu‘s directive at the December 10, 2025 meeting of the Federal Executive Council for the immediate settlement of verified contractor liabilities estimated at about N1.5 trillion.

They recalled that the National Assembly subsequently approved borrowing in excess of N1 trillion to finance the outstanding obligations, yet many contractors and MDAs say they have seen little improvement in fund releases.
Beyond the political implications, members argued that the persistent failure to implement budgets undermines the constitutional authority of the National Assembly.

They maintained that the legislature’s power of appropriation loses its meaning if budgets painstakingly debated and passed are not faithfully executed by the Executive.

The concerns were reinforced during the 2026 budget defence sessions, where several ministers and heads of MDAs reportedly disclosed that many agencies received either no capital releases or only a fraction of their approved allocations under the 2025 budget.

The mounting frustration culminated in calls by some lawmakers for President Tinubu and his economic management team to appear before the House to explain why approved budgets were not being implemented.

However, Speaker Abbas ruled that the proposal to summon the President could not be adopted, describing such a move as inconsistent with parliamentary practice.

Despite the ruling, the debate exposed growing resentment within the House, with many lawmakers insisting that unless funding for constituency projects improves, they risk facing angry voters in 2027 with little evidence of their legislative stewardship.

For many members, the battle over budget implementation is no longer merely about fiscal discipline. It has become a fight for political relevance, accountability and ultimately, their chances of returning to the National Assembly after the next general election.