Civil society groups and organised labour have accused the administration of Bola Tinubu of persistent constitutional and statutory violations in the management of Nigeria’s public finances, citing opaque budgeting, delayed fiscal frameworks and rising debt.
At a joint press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) alongside several civil society organisations said federal revenue and expenditure processes have fallen short of legal requirements and public accountability standards.
The groups, ActionAid Nigeria, Centre for Social Justice, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Impact Bridge Africa and Plan International, criticised what they described as weak transparency, poor citizen participation, disregard for timelines in the federal budgeting process and a lack of clarity in debt management.
They faulted the late submission of the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), arguing that Section 14 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act requires the framework to be presented to the National Assembly by early July to allow approval before lawmakers’ mid-year recess.
According to the groups, the 2026 executive budget was presented without an approved MTEF, in breach of Section 48 of the Act.
Their statement added that the 2026 budget had not been passed as of April, despite the law stipulating a financial year running from January 1 to December 31.
They also questioned the upward revision of the executive budget proposal from N58.4 trillion to N68.3 trillion, an increase of about N9 trillion, warning that the earlier proposal already carried a deficit of N25.2 trillion, with no clear explanation of how the additional funding would be sourced.
Further criticism centred on poor releases under the 2025 budget as the briefing cited the Federal Ministry of Health as receiving just N36 million out of a N218 billion capital allocation.
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On public borrowing, the Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Rafsanjani, said Nigeria’s debt stock rose from N87.4 trillion in 2023 to N153.29 trillion by December 31, 2025.
Rafsanjani added that the President had reportedly submitted another loan request of about $6 billion.
The DG questioned the utilisation of the loans, saying that subsidies had been withdrawn from sectors such as health, fuel, electricity, transport, education and agriculture, yet there was little verifiable evidence of improved living standards.
He urged the National Assembly and the Presidency to pursue policies that lift citizens out of poverty and address infrastructure decay.
NLC Senior Assistant Secretary General Eustace James accused political elites of entrenching policies that, in his words, deepen hardship for ordinary Nigerians while alleged gains are misappropriated.
ActionAid Nigeria Country Director Andrew Mamedu questioned whether government was listening to public grievances, pointing to recurring budget deficits and the routine addition of constituency projects by lawmakers.
Mamedu cited instances where ministerial proposals ballooned greatly after legislative review, with consequences borne by citizens.