Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticised the Federal Government over what he described as “fiscal recklessness” in managing Nigeria’s national budgets.
In a statement posted on his official X account on Monday, Obi questioned which budget Nigeria is currently operating, ahead of the expected Senate approval of the 2026 national budget on March 17. He expressed concern that since 2023, the country has been implementing items from multiple fiscal years simultaneously, calling the practice abnormal and detrimental to public finance management.
Obi noted that President Bola Tinubu inherited a ₦21.83 trillion budget in 2023 but later introduced a ₦2.17 trillion supplementary budget, which he claimed prioritised benefits for public office holders amid widespread economic hardship. He added that the trend continued with the approval of ₦35.06 trillion for 2024 and ₦54.99 trillion for 2025, bringing total appropriations under the current administration to over ₦114 trillion in less than three years.
The former Anambra State governor highlighted that despite the massive spending, budget implementation has remained below 50 per cent, resulting in what he termed a “crisis of credibility” in public finance. He also criticised the government’s decision to repeal and re-enact the 2024 and 2025 budgets with extended timelines, noting that Nigerians were not given details of the revised budgets or their capital projects.
Obi accused the administration of lacking transparency, alleging that treasury reports are no longer published on the OpenTreasury.gov.ng platform and that no budget implementation report was released in 2025.
“This lack of transparency is not accidental; it reflects a deliberate pattern of undermining public scrutiny and debate. The Federal Government has stopped publishing treasury reports on the OpenTreasury.gov.ng portal, dismantling a vital transparency framework inherited from the previous administration. In 2025, no budget implementation report was released, regardless of how poor the performance was! No nation can operate with such recklessness and succeed,” Obi said.
He urged the government to restore fiscal discipline and ensure transparency in budget management to safeguard the nation’s economic future.
Elijah Adeyemi
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