…Say Over N8tn Spent Without Legislative Approval
A coalition of civil society organisations in Nigeria has issued a stern warning to President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly (NASS) over what they describe as a blatant disregard for constitutional and fiscal laws in the handling of the 2024 and 2025 federal budgets.
In a press statement released today under the banner “Stop This Fiscal Rascality,” the groups accused the executive and legislative branches of opacity, lack of transparency, and exclusion of citizens from the budget process.
The statement, made available to NEWSNGR, was signed by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), PRIMEORG, PLSI, and BudgIT.
It highlights that 18 days after the presentation of the federal executive budget, the Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) and NASS have failed to upload the budget documents on their websites, making them inaccessible to the public.
“The 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts (Repeal and Re-enactment) bills which have been approved by NASS are not available to Nigerians on any electronic portal, and there was no opportunity for popular participation in the consideration and re-enactment of these Acts,”** the statement read.
The civil society groups argued that the actions of the Presidency and NASS raise fundamental questions about the management of public revenues and expenditures and challenge the responsiveness of the government to Nigeria’s fiscal laws.
The organisations specifically cited Sections 80(2), 80(3), 80(4), and 81 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which provide that the President must submit expenditure proposals to NASS, and no public expenditure can occur without prior legislative approval.
According to the coalition, the 2024 Appropriation Act was supposed to expire on December 31, 2024, but NASS allegedly extended its life to June 2025, and later to December 2025.
Even within this extended period, the statement claims, the executive branch failed to implement the 2024 budget according to its original provisions, prompting the President to seek a repeal and re-enactment that increased the budget size from ₦35.05tn to ₦43.56tn.
“This is a legal and constitutional impossibility,” the statement emphasised. “It can only happen in a country where the rule of law is continuously desecrated. Spending an extra ₦8tn in public funds without prior legislative approval is an affront to the fiscal provisions of the Constitution, especially when Nigeria was not under any declared fiscal emergency.”
The statement also criticised NASS’s justification for the repeal and re-enactment, which claimed the process was intended to align Nigeria’s budgeting process with global best practices, enhance transparency, and resolve challenges associated with running multiple budgets.
The Civil society groups rejected this position, stating it does not align with Nigerian fiscal laws, policies, or international best practice and constitutes mismanagement and gross abuse of due process.
Section 48(1) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) was also cited, which requires the federal government to conduct its fiscal and financial affairs transparently, ensuring full and timely disclosure of all transactions involving public revenues and expenditures.
By refusing to publish the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts and the 2026 Appropriation Bill, the government is “denying citizens the right to engage with budgetary decisions”, the statement argues.
Civil society groups also outlined several key demands to address these concerns.
They called on NASS to ensure that no expenditure occurs without prior appropriation, stressing that unbudgeted expenditure is an impeachable offence.
They also urged the President to unconditionally commit to spending only what has been appropriated, in line with constitutional stipulations.
The organisations demanded the immediate publication of the 2026 federal budget estimates on the BOF and NASS websites, as well as the immediate release of the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bills and Acts.
They further called for a commitment to fiscal transparency and popular participation, ensuring that citizens are fully engaged in the consideration and approval of all fiscal laws and policies, as mandated by Section 48 of the FRA.
The coalition warned that continued violations of these fiscal and constitutional provisions undermine public trust, weaken accountability, and erode the rule of law in Nigeria.
“Citizens cannot engage budget bills that they have not seen or have access to,” the statement said, stressing that the Budget Office of the Federation, which previously produced simplified citizens’ budgets, has now refused even to make the basic budget documents available to the public.
The civil society organisations concluded by urging immediate action from both the executive and legislative branches to restore budgetary transparency, fiscal responsibility, and constitutional compliance, warning that failure to do so could constitute serious legal and political consequences.
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