By Chinelo Obogo
The federal government has been criticised for failing to publish a detailed revenue breakdown for the 2025 budget.
Civil Society Organisation, BudgiT, which has tracked the country’s budget for many years, said in a statement on Monday, that the N54.99 trillion budget signed into law by President Bola Tinubu lacks clarity and transparency and by not publishing a detailed breakdown, the government is violating the Fiscal Responsibility Act (2007) and opaque fiscal practices .
BudgiT said the approved budget, which exceeds the initial proposals by over N7 trillion, lacks ‘public documentation to justify the increase’. It said no analysis or sectoral projections have been shared and that Nigerians would be unable to scrutinise the sources of funding for the budget.
“The Federal Government has failed to publish a detailed revenue breakdown for the 2025 budget. This is wrong. N54.9 trillion was signed into law by President Tinubu but a breakdown of where the money will come from is nowhere to be found. While references have been made to certain revenue sources, no comprehensive data has been released to allow for independent scrutiny.
“Recall that the Presidency initially submitted a proposed expenditure of N47.9 trillion, which President Tinubu later revised to N54.2 trillion through a presidential letter citing increased revenue expectations. The National Assembly further increased this figure to N54.9 trillion, without publishing any accompanying macroeconomic or fiscal analysis to justify the additions.
“The Fiscal Responsibility Act (2007) is clear: Total spending must not exceed revenue + 3% of GDP. With GDP projected at N338 trillion, the legal max is N51.95 trillion. But guess what? The 2025 budget exceeds that by over N3 trillion. Equally troubling is the fact that the latest available federal Budget Implementation Report covers only the Q2 2024, despite formal requests made to the Budget Office for more recent updates.
“We call on the Presidency to uphold the principles of transparency, due process, and legal compliance in the management of public funds. We also urge citizens, civil society organisations, the private sector, and the international community to collectively demand the immediate publication of the full revenue framework underpinning the Federal Government’s 2025 Budget,” BudgiT said.
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