As the National Assembly considers the 2026 Appropriation Bill, civil society organisations (CSOs) have raised concerns over the alleged non-release of funds for capital projects captured in the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts.

The National Vanguard for Accountable and Transparent Democracy (NVATD) said the situation has severely undermined budget performance across key sectors of the economy.

The group, which staged a protest at the National Assembly on Wednesday, accused the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun; the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite; and the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Shamsedeen Babatunde Ogunjimi, of stalling the implementation of critical capital projects nationwide.

Speaking on behalf of the group, NVATD Secretary-General, Dr. Harry Linus, alleged that the finance officials had frustrated the execution of the capital component of the 2024 budget, a development he said had negatively affected the performance of the 2025 fiscal plan.

According to him, the failure to pay contractors who executed projects under the 2024 budget has made it difficult for new projects under the 2025 budget to take off.
“If the ministers had listened to Nigerians, the National Assembly and even President Bola Tinubu, and paid local contractors owed over ₦4 trillion for projects executed under the 2024 budget, the performance of the 2025 budget would have been massive,” Linus said.

He warned that the alleged non-release of capital funds had created a ripple effect across critical sectors, including health and education, and could erode public confidence in the 2026 Appropriation Bill currently before lawmakers.
Linus cited the recent appearance of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, before the National Assembly, during which he reportedly decried poor fund releases to his ministry.

He claimed that only ₦36 million was released out of over ₦218 billion appropriated for the health ministry’s capital projects in the 2025 budget, describing the situation as alarming.

“Projects captured in the 2024 budget were executed by contractors, many of whom took loans to deliver them. Some of these projects have even been commissioned by government, yet the contractors remain unpaid. If the 2024 capital budget is not serviced, there is no way the 2025 budget can perform,” he said.

The group alleged that the continued failure to release capital funds was responsible for stagnation in several sectors of the economy.

NVATD urged the National Assembly to intensify oversight of budget implementation and ensure accountability in the release and utilisation of appropriated funds.

The group also called on lawmakers to subject future budget proposals to stricter scrutiny and to withhold approvals for ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) that failed to demonstrate satisfactory performance in the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years, except in critical sectors such as health, education and security.

Meanwhile, during his appearance before the House Committee on Healthcare Services, Prof. Pate attributed the poor performance of the health sector’s capital budget to cash-flow constraints and systemic bottlenecks in the Federal Government’s budget execution process.

He explained that while personnel costs were fully released and utilised, the capital component suffered severe shortfalls under the bottom-up cash planning system operated by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

Pate added that the health sector operates within established frameworks, including Vision 20:2020, the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021–2025), and the National Strategic Health Development Plan II.