The lawmaker representing Borno North Senatorial District, Mohammed Tahir Monguno, has described the failure to implement the capital component of the national budget as an impeachable offence, questioning the Federal Government over the utilisation of public revenues.
Monguno made the remarks on Monday during a session of the Senate Committee on Finance, where the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, briefed lawmakers on the state of the nation’s economy.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the pace of budget implementation, the senator questioned why significant revenues were being generated despite what he described as poor execution of approved capital projects.
“Where are these revenues going to if the 2025 budget has not been implemented, and we have to roll over 70 per cent of the 2025 budget to 2026 with the promise that 30 per cent will be implemented before March? Up to March, even 30 per cent was not implemented,” Monguno said.
He recalled that the National Assembly extended the implementation period for the 2025 Appropriation Act until September to enable the government to execute part of the outstanding budget.
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“The National Assembly had to extend the lifespan of the budget up to September to allow the government to implement just the 30 per cent component of the 2025 budget. The issue of the 2026 budget had not even arisen at all. So, don’t you think this is contradictory? Where are these revenues going, to the extent that the budget is not being implemented?” he asked.
The senator argued that budget implementation is central to effective governance, stressing that the inability to execute approved projects undermines the delivery of essential public services.
“If the budget is not being implemented, what is the function of government? For example, security of lives and property of the people is the primary responsibility of government,” he said.
Monguno also expressed concern over funding for security agencies, claiming that several of them had informed the Senate that they had not received allocations for capital projects.
“All the security agencies that we have been interacting with are reporting to us that they have received zero allocation in terms of their capital. Where are these monies going to?” he queried.
He maintained that failure to implement an appropriation law amounted to a violation of the law and described it as “an impeachable offence.”
The comments came during the Senate committee’s ongoing review of the country’s fiscal performance and budget implementation, as lawmakers continued to seek explanations from the Ministry of Finance over the execution of approved government spending.
