Columnist: Nigeria's new economic framework ignores budget chaos undermining its credibility
Premium Times columnist Uddin Ifeanyi tears into the Federal Ministry of Finance's new "Nigeria Economic Policy Framework" (open for public consultation October 26–November 27, 2026) for sidestepping the government's own fiscal indiscipline. The core problem: Nigeria is running three annual budgets simultaneously — 2024, 2025, and 2026 — with capital expenditure extensions blurring accountability.
The 2024 budget's capital component ran into 2025. The 2025 appropriation act's capital expenditure has been extended four times and now runs through December 31. Meanwhile, the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework/Fiscal Strategy Paper remains unpublished despite the Budget Office completing its draft in July. This overlap makes it nearly impossible to trace which budget funded which project, how much was spent, or whether allocations achieved their aims.
Ifeanyi acknowledges the framework's proposal for independent assessment of policy execution but flags missing legal powers, funding, and information-access rights needed for real scrutiny. He argues more useful reforms would include: explicit rules governing the life of an appropriation and consequences for failed execution; a medium-term cap on the fiscal deficit with agreed breach recourses; a debt sustainability framework covering interest costs, revenue capacity, maturity, and forex exposure; borrowing covenants specifying loan purposes, approval procedures, and repayment plans; and mandatory reporting on appropriations, releases, commitments, actual payments, and project completion.
With the government operating three budgets at once, can any long-term framework deliver discipline without first fixing basic budget execution?