By Fatima Saka
Abuja, Saturday – At the end of submission of all budgets by the committees, the Senate Committee on Appropriation raised serious concerns over the zero release of capital funds, warning that the development poses significant challenges to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and could negatively impact the nation’s economy.
Speaking after collating reports from various standing committees, Vice Chairman of the committee, Mohammed Tahir Monguno, said the issue of non-release of the 2025 capital component emerged as a recurring concern across virtually all committees.
According to him, the failure to release capital funds has severely hindered the implementation of projects and the effective discharge of statutory mandates by MDAs.
“One of the points raised by various committees is the issue of zero release of the 2025 capital component. This has tremendously affected the discharge of the statutory budgets of various ministries, departments and agencies, and the delivery of dividends of democracy to the people,” Monguno stated.
He further disclosed that beyond the 2025 budget performance, many committees expressed dissatisfaction with the proposed allocations for the 2026 fiscal year, describing them as grossly inadequate to fund their statutory responsibilities.
“Most of the committees are reporting that the amounts allocated to them are grossly inadequate to carry out their mandates. Therefore, they are calling for enhanced funding,” he said.
The vice chairman also criticised the continued use of envelope-based budgeting, describing it as a major structural flaw in the country’s fiscal framework. He advocated a transition to priority-based budgeting to ensure that allocations reflect the developmental aspirations of the government.
“It is high time we return to priority-based budgeting so that our budget will be in tandem with the realities of our developmental goals, rather than spreading scarce resources thinly and achieving little,” he added.
Monguno stressed that the power of appropriation is constitutionally vested in the National Assembly, underscoring the need for strategic and result-oriented budget planning to avoid what he described as “appropriating and re-appropriating without meaningful outcomes.”
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He commended members of the committee, legislative aides, staff and the media for their dedication, particularly for attending the session held on a Saturday.
The meeting was later adjourned following the adoption of a motion by members.
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