CSOs criticise Tinubu, NASS over secrecy, ‘rubber-stamp’ approvals in 2024, 2025 budget re-enactment

A coalition of civil society organisations has strongly condemned what it described as “fiscal rascality” in the handling of Nigeria’s 2024 and 2025 federal budgets, accusing President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly of constitutional breaches, lack of transparency and the systematic exclusion of citizens from the budgeting process.

The organisations, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), PLSI, BudgIT and PRIMORG- made the allegations in a joint statement titled “Stop This Fiscal Rascality in Nigeria,” on Tuesday.

Their concerns arise against the backdrop of Mr. Tinubu’s transmission of fresh Appropriation (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bills for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years to the National Assembly on 19 December 2025.

The president requested legislative approval to repeal the existing budgets and replace them with revised expenditure frameworks, which the presidency said were aligned with prevailing fiscal realities.

According to details accompanying the request, the first bill seeks to repeal the 2024 Appropriation Act, originally passed at N35.06 trillion, and re-enact it with an increased total expenditure of N43.56 trillion for the year ending 31 December 2025.

The revised 2024 budget comprises N1.74 trillion for statutory transfers, N8.27 trillion for debt ser- vice, N11.27 trillion for recurrent non-debt expenditure, and N22.28 trillion for capital expenditure and development fund contributions.

The second bill seeks to repeal the 2025 Appropriation Act of N54.99 trillion and re-enact it with a reduced total expenditure of N48.32 trillion for the period ending 31 March 2026. The revised proposal allocates N3.65 trillion for statutory transfers, N4.32 trillion for debt service, N13.59 trillion for recurrent non-debt expenditure, and N16.71 trillion for capital expenditure and development fund contributions.

Following the transmission, the relevant committees of the National Assembly immediately met to consider the president’s request. They concluded their work within days and presented their report at the next plenary sitting on Tuesday, 23 December 2025.

The report was adopted the same day, paving the way for the swift approval of the repeal and reenactment of both Appropriation Acts.

Assault on Constitution and Fiscal Order

However, the civil society groups argued that beyond the figures and the speed of legislative action, the entire process represents a grave assault on Nigeria’s constitutional and fiscal order.

They expressed grave concern over what they described as constitutional breaches arising from the repeal and re-enactment of the 2024 and 2025 Appropriation Acts, alleging a collaboration between the executive and the legislature that undermines fiscal accountability.

The organisations also decried the opacity surrounding the federal budgeting process, noting that 18 days after the presentation of the federal executive budget, neither the Budget Office of the Federation nor the National Assembly had uploaded the budget documents on their websites.

“We are concerned about the opacity, lack of transparency and popular participation in the federal budgeting process, to the extent that eighteen days after the presentation of the federal executive budget, the Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) and the NASS have failed, refused and neglected to upload same to their websites,” the statement read.