The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), has flayed the failure of the Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) to upload the signed 2026 Federal budget on its website for citizens to scrutinise.

The budget was signed by the President on April 17 2026, but 17 days after, the budget is still hidden from the public.

CSJ which raised the alarm on Monday in a document titled ‘where is the 2026 budget’ signed by its Lead Director, Eze Onyekpere, also advised the Director General of the BOF to resign his position if he cannot do the work for which he was employed.

The Centre also noted that even the usual budget breakdown by the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy has not been done, further heightening a culture of fiscal opacity.

CSJ said Nigerians have a right to information on the details of the allocation and management of public expenditure and resources at the federal level. “From the scheme and trajectory of events, these denials are deliberate and targeted at frustrating the exercise of the right of Nigerians to participate and make informed inputs into the fiscal governance system”, it noted.

CSJ recalled that the executive budget proposal which was presented by the President to the National Assembly on December 19, 2025 was only uploaded to the website on January 8 2026 – 20 days after presentation.

“It is a matter of grave concern that 17 days after the presidential assent, the BOF, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning and the Coordinating Minister for the Economy have not deemed it fit to have a budget briefing or breakdown session with Nigerians through the media where the details and economic policy leads

behind the budget are explained and clarified”, CSJ said and reminded the BOF and the respective Ministers of the provisions of section 48 (1) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act which states that the Federal Government shall ensure that its fiscal and financial affairs are

conducted in a transparent manner and accordingly ensure full and timely

disclosure and wide publication of all transactions and decisions involving public revenues and expenditures and their implications for its finances.

“This deliberate refusal by the BOF to perform a statutory duty runs contrary to the entire gamut of the Freedom of Information Act and the constitutional fundamental objective of participation by the people in their fiscal governance – because no one can participate or make informed contributions without the requisite information”, it noted.

“CSJ therefore demands that the Director General of the BOF takes action to upload the assented 2026 federal budget to the website of the Office within 48 hours of this media statement. This is not a request for a favour. It is a demand for the performance of a constitutional and statutory duty.”

Upon enquiry by The Guardian, a top management staff of the Budget Office while acknowledging the delay in the upload of the budget on its website, noted that the document needs to be looked at properly before it is made public. He also noted that he cannot confirm when the budget will be uploaded for now.