The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has expressed concern over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s proposal to increase the 2025 budget from N49.7trn to N54.2trn.
Mallam Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, Executive Director of CISLAC, on Thursday, in Abuja said while acknowledging reported additional revenues from key government agencies, the centre considered this move unprecedented and potentially unconstitutional.
Rafsanjani referenced Section 81(4) of the 1999 Constitution which stipulates that if the amount appropriated by the Appropriation Act is insufficient, or if additional expenditure is required, a supplementary estimate must be presented to the National Assembly.
Rafsanjani, who also serves as the Head of Transparency International Nigeria, criticized the manner in which the budget increment was introduced. Instead of following due process with a supplementary appropriation bill, the executive merely informed the National Assembly through a letter.
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He warned that this deviation from established legislative procedures undermines the sanctity of the budgetary process and could set a dangerous precedent for future fiscal governance.
“The cited additional revenues were not sudden; failing to account for them in the initial budget highlights poor fiscal foresight,” he said.
He said, “This unilateral decision-making weakens the constitutional principle of checks and balances and sidelines the legislature’s role in fiscal oversight.”
He said, “The proposed budget increase comes amid rising national debt and ballooning debt servicing costs. In 2025, Nigeria allocated N16.32 trillion for debt servicing, a drastic surge from N712 billion in 2014.
CISLAC warns that many debt-financed projects, like the Kaduna-Abuja Highway, remain incomplete or abandoned.
“As a more sustainable alternative, CISLAC recommends leveraging internally generated revenue to fund smaller, realistic projects that can be completed efficiently, thereby reducing the country’s reliance on loans and ensuring tangible benefits for citizens.”
He called for rigorous scrutiny of all budgetary provisions to ensure they align with the country’s current priorities and governance structures.
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