Budget reports delayed by project checks, fiscal transition

Nigeria’s Budget Office has said the delays in publishing budget implementation reports are due to lengthy project verification checks and the transition to a new fiscal framework.

The office said this in a press statement on Friday.

This comes days after the civic-tech group BudgIT called out the Ministry of Finance for not ensuring the Budget Office publishes quarterly budget implementation reports.

The quarterly reports, which track how government funds are spent against approved budgets, have not been released since the second quarter of 2024.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times

Add as a preferred source on Google

The group said the failure to release the reports amounted to a violation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007.

“The Minister of Finance shall cause the report (on the Implementation of the Annual Budget) prepared pursuant to subsection (1) of this section to be published in the mass and electronic media and on the Ministry of Finance website, not later than 30 days after the end of each quarter,” it says.

In response, the office said nationwide checks to confirm spending and reconcile data with ministries had taken longer than expected. It added that publishing under the old budget cycle could have created “conflicting datasets” once the government extended its fiscal framework.

“The delay in publication is due to two key factors: Verification and Reconciliation Processes – BIRs are not merely accounting summaries; they integrate expenditure data with physical verification of projects nationwide.

“These verification missions and reconciliations with implementing agencies took longer than anticipated, given the scale and geographic spread of appropriated projects.

“Transition to an Extended Fiscal Framework – Even before the extension was formally passed, policy discussions were already pointing toward a lengthened budget horizon. Issuing reports on the old cycle, only to have them overtaken by a revised implementation framework, would have created conflicting datasets and misled stakeholders,” the statement said.

The office urged Nigerians not to view the delay as backsliding but as evidence of the effort to ensure accuracy, coherence and credibility in Nigeria’s fiscal reporting during what it described as an exceptional budget cycle.

The budget office said it will publish a provisional 2024 performance report by the end of September. It also plans to release consolidated reports for the first half of 2025 alongside the full-year 2024 update. Regular quarterly reporting is expected to resume from the third quarter of 2025.

READ ALSO: 2026 Budget Planning: Gov Radda holds town hall in home LGA

The agency added that it is strengthening monitoring systems and digital integration of data from ministries to prevent future delays.

Nigeria has faced criticism in the past for weak budget discipline and poor accountability, with civil society groups warning that delays in reporting make it harder for citizens to track public spending.