Nigeria’s immediate past Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, says the delayed release of capital funds in the 2025 budget is hindering many lawmakers from delivering constituency projects across the country.
Mr Lawan, who led the Senate between 2019 and 2023 and currently represents Yobe North Senatorial District, said members of the National Assembly are pushing to ensure that the capital component of the budget is fully implemented so projects can spread equitably across the country.
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He spoke with journalists on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
Mr Lawan appeared cautious, offering guarded comments that avoided directly criticising the presidency while responding to questions about the federal government’s failure to release capital project funds, a situation that has left many local contractors stranded,
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Still, he acknowledged the lingering challenge.
“Well, I am sure you visit the National Assembly from time to time, and you will notice that the members of the National Assembly are still working hard to ensure that the necessary steps are taken, the procedures and processes are done for the constituency projects to be implemented.
“But we also care about the implementation of the total budget of the country, not only constituency projects, and therefore we are still on it. Some of our colleagues have had constituency projects implemented to a certain level of some percentage.
“But make no mistake, we are not one eyed, we are not narrow minded. We are purely nationalistic and patriotic. We want the project to be implemented fully for all parts of the country, regardless of whether they are constituency projects or the normal budgets provisions,” he said.
Constituency projects, also known as Zonal Intervention Projects are federal budgetary provisions nominated by lawmakers to address local infrastructure and social needs within their constituencies.
Although the projects are initiated by lawmakers, the execution of these projects is the responsibility of federal ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
Over the years, the scheme has faced criticism for poor implementation, inadequate funding releases, duplication of projects, and allegations of corruption.
A recurring challenge has been the delayed or non-release of capital budget funds by the executive, which often leaves thousands of approved projects either abandoned or partially completed. There are also instances where lawmakers neglect to monitor the projects they initiated, a lapse that frequently contributes to projects being stalled or left unfinished.
The Office of the Auditor-General and civil society organisations in the accountability sector have repeatedly flagged gaps in tracking these projects.
In September, lawmakers accused the executive of selectively releasing funds, undermining both constituency projects and national capital projects. This has also affected local contractors who rely on timely payments to execute government jobs. Capital budget implementation has dropped significantly as the country grapples with heavy debt burden.
Lawan’s visit
When asked about the purpose of his visit to the Villa, Mr Lawan said he came to congratulate President Tinubu for his administration’s bold and courageous reforms, since assuming office.
“I’ve come to see Mr President to congratulate him for doing a very good job for our country. Mr President, in the last two years or so has been taking very, bold, courageous, profound steps, through various reforms, to position the economy of our country and also ramp up so much investments in the security sector to make our country safer,” he said.
He also commended ongoing security efforts, expressing confidence that increased funding for security agencies would yield greater results.
“And I think we have, so far, succeeded. Our economy has stabilised. We are facing the right direction, and there is growth. What we need to do further is to ensure that its growth is all inclusive. The security situation is improving, even though we have challenges, but I believe that the huge investments this administration is making is going to pay off. And I believe that our armed forces and other security agencies are also so committed, but as we give them more resources, we should expect them to do more and better,” he said.
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Speaking further, the former senate president reaffirmed his loyalty to President Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Mr. President is our leader. I support this administration and Mr. President fully believing that as a loyal APC member, I should do my best to make this administration succeed. And as a legislator, as a senator, I have the responsibility to ensure that my senatorial district and indeed the country, benefit from this administration. Where we feel the administration needs to refocus will work or reconsider certain issues. We’ll always do so because that will make our performance more efficient and effective.
“And this is a listening president. You have seen so many cases, the president will come up or the administration will come on the reform issue, and when the public feels otherwise, the administration will reconsider and sometimes even withdraw or maybe amend the reform item. So I believe that it’s very important that we come here to see Mr. President, tell him what we feel about certain political or governmental issues, advice, and also seek advice from Mr President as our leader. We are behind him fully and completely to ensure that this administration and subsequent APC administrations deliver to Nigerians what Nigerians expect and actually need,” Mr Lawan said.
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