Transparency Dead and Buried: For the First Time in 15 Years, Nigeria’s Budget Office Hides Quarterly Report Under Tinubu

Transparency Dead and Buried: For the First Time in 15 Years, Nigeria’s Budget Office Hides Quarterly Report Under Tinubu

An investigation has revealed that under Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s 2025 fiscal operations are increasingly shrouded in secrecy, particularly when it comes to federal spending.

Channels that previously provided regular disclosures on revenue and expenditure have largely gone dark.

For example, the Budget Office’s performance documents portal has not been updated since the second quarter of 2024. This means that for more than a year, the Tinubu administration has failed to publish a budget performance report on the Budget Office of the Federation’s website.

Since 2009, such reports had been published consistently, with only rare lapses—2020 (Q4) and 2010 (Q2). Apart from these exceptions, the quarterly reports had always been made available.

Likewise, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which normally issues monthly economic reports capturing government spending, last published one in February 2025. Reports from March 2025 onward remain missing.

Additionally, the Open Treasury Portal, which tracks federal ministries, departments, and agencies’ daily, quarterly, and annual expenditures, currently shows no records of 2025 spending.

These budget performance documents are essential for fiscal accountability and transparency. The Tinubu government’s failure to make them public constitutes a breach of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007.

Section 30 of the Act provides: ‘The Minister of Finance, through the Budget Office of the Federation, shall monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Annual Budget, assess the attainment of the fiscal targets and report thereon on a quarterly basis to the Fiscal Responsibility Council and the Joint Finance Committee of the National Assembly.

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

“In implementing their annual budgets, States and Local Governments may adopt the provisions of this part with such modifications as may be appropriate and necessary.”

The situation has fueled growing concerns about transparency and accountability in the handling of public finances by the Tinubu administration—especially at a time when Nigerians are demanding more openness in governance.

Source: Sahara reporters