A leading pro-democracy civil society organization, the National Vanguard for Accountable and Transparent Democracy (NVATD), has slammed the Nigerian Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun, his Minister of State, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, and the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGoF), Mr. Shamsedeen Babatunde Ogunjimi, for what it described as deliberate actions undermining the Federal Government’s efforts to revive the economy and health sector.
During a protest at the National Assembly, NVATD Secretary General, Dr. Harry Linus, accused the officers of blocking funding for capital projects in the 2024 Appropriation, resulting in a near-total collapse of the 2025 budget across almost all sectors.
Dr. Linus specifically cited the recent lamentation of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, who revealed that only ₦36 million was released from the ₦218 billion appropriated for the Ministry’s 2025 budget. He said the failure to pay contractors for projects executed under the 2024 budget prevented new contracts in 2025, paralyzing the economy, healthcare, and education sectors.
“If only the Ministers had listened to Nigerians, the National Assembly, and even President Tinubu, and paid local contractors owed over ₦4 trillion from 2024, the 2025 budget would have performed massively,” Dr. Linus said.
The CSO urged the National Assembly to expedite the Electoral Act review and ensure that no agency receives budget allocations unless prior fiscal years show performance, except for critical sectors like health, education, and security.
Prof. Pate, appearing before the House Committee on Healthcare Services, explained that while personnel costs were fully funded, capital expenditures suffered due to cash flow constraints and systemic bottlenecks under the bottom-up cash planning system managed by the Accountant-General’s office. He stressed that Nigeria’s health programs operate within strategic frameworks including Vision 20:2020 and the National Strategic Health Development Plan II.
Dr. Linus concluded that the failures of the Finance Ministry and AGoF directly contributed to nationwide strikes by doctors, threats of lecturers’ strikes, and the general stagnation of critical public services.
