Finance Ministry Accused of Stifling Nigeria's Development by Withholding Capital Funds

Legislative Consultant Akinloye Oyeniyi has levelled accusations against the Ministry of Finance, alleging it is deliberately withholding capital expenditure releases. He contends that this practice, while recurrent spending like salaries continues to be prioritised, is significantly impeding Nigeria's development and undermining the effective implementation of both the 2024 and 2025 national budgets.

During an interview on ARISE NEWS on Saturday, Oyeniyi presented a concerning outlook on the performance of Nigeria's budgets. He stated that ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) are being deprived of essential capital funds required for crucial infrastructure and development projects, even as operational costs such as wages and administrative expenses are consistently met.

"See, this is what we are talking about. When you have a budget in this form, there’s no way the nation can move forward," Oyeniyi remarked.

He elaborated on the standard budgetary division, explaining that Nigeria's budget typically distinguishes between recurrent and capital expenditures. "You know, normally you have the corporate side, you have the recurrent. Recurrent are those ones that make the MDA, that move the MDAs. That’s the day-to-day activities of the affairs of the MDA, whether it is ministry, whether it’s department, or it’s an agency.

But the capital aspect, the reworks, maybe construction and some other physical works," he clarified.

According to Oyeniyi, while the initial period of the current administration saw smoother budget execution in 2023, challenges began to emerge in 2024. "But, you know, when this government came in, when this government came in 2023, the budget was moving fine. In 2024, we started having all these quote- unquote glitches, where we see more of a release of a recurrent budget, part of the budget, and the capital part of the budget has been withheld."

He noted that this pattern has persisted into 2025, pointing to public statements from ministers as evidence. "You can see the Minister of Health and the Minister of Social, whatever, saying that only 36 million of his ministry’s budget, 2025 budget, was released out of how many billions. See, this is what we are talking about."

Oyeniyi asserted that disbursing salaries and covering administrative costs while neglecting capital projects fundamentally undermines national progress. "You can be paying salaries, you can be buying vehicles, you can be buying computers, you can be buying vehicles and the rest. But the main aspect of the budget is not being attended to."

He placed the ultimate responsibility on the Presidency and the Ministry of Finance. "So, the box is not stopping on anybody’s table apart from the president. Severally, we’ve heard the president telling the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy to release, to do release, to do release."

Oyeniyi dismissed earlier justifications that attributed delays to the former Accountant General. "We have new accountant general now, and these funds are not still being released. We don’t know what is actually happening."

He highlighted that the National Assembly has repeatedly summoned finance officials to address the lack of capital expenditure releases. "You see the National Assembly every time inviting the Minister of Finance to come forward, to come and explain to them, why are we not having CAPEX? Why are we not having CAPEX? Why are we not having CAPEX? And this issue still continues to linger on, to the point where we are not having to consolidate budget and budget together. We have to be joining multiple budgets together for consolidation, repeat and reenactment."

In his view, the core of the problem resides within the Finance Ministry. "The problem is coming from the ministry. I have to tell you, it’s coming from the ministry. It’s not coming from anywhere. It’s from the ministry. It’s from the Ministry of Finance."

He referenced recent protests by federal contractors who claim they are owed trillions of naira. "Yes. There was a particular day, the lawyers to the contractors actually also protested that they are not being paid by their clients, because federal government has not paid their clients. You understand me now?"

Oyeniyi suggested that the ministry is intentionally prioritising recurrent payments to avert potential civil unrest. "I think the ministry is prioritizing the recurring expenditure over the capital expenditure, because you know, you can, why they are doing like this is, you know, when you hold on to the capital, it will not totally affect the workings of the government. It will only paint a bad picture of the government to the populace."

He outlined the perceived rationale behind this approach: "When you hold on to the capital, it will not totally affect the workings of the government. It will only paint a bad picture of the government to the populace. But when you hold on to the current, there is going to be a crisis."

"If they deal with what is happening to the capital, if that should happen to the recurring, there is going to be chaos."

He warned of potential disorder if salary payments were to be disrupted, stating, "They deal with what is happening to the capital, if that should happen to the recurring, there is going to be chaos."

"I’m alleging failure. It’s not a issue of misjudgment. I’m alleging failure."

Oyeniyi commented that public dissatisfaction is escalating and called for decisive action from leadership. "Even personally, me, myself, I also join Nigerians that it should be taken off the job. We don’t know why the president is still keeping it."

He further proposed that the withholding of capital releases could be seen as undermining the government's own objectives. "Why would he be holding on to cappers? Apart from the fact that it will not make Nigerians to enjoy dividends of democracy and dividends of the government that is in power, it’s actually, quote, somehow sabotaging the effort of the government."

Oyeniyi also indicated that the problem extends beyond federal ministries to affect constituency projects designated for lawmakers. "Even the National Assembly member, the Zona Intervention Project, the ZIPs, are not being funded. Those projects are not being funded."

He refuted the idea that Nigerians are apathetic, asserting that both citizens and legislators have voiced their concerns. "I can tell you the situation is getting worse. We shouldn’t get used to it."

For Oyeniyi, the path forward is clear and urgent. "It’s our money now, and all these projects are for us. Let him release the money."