Fayemi Slams FG Over Delayed Budget Releases

Former Governor of Ekiti State and immediate past Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Kayode Fayemi, has expressed strong criticism of the federal government over its failure to release funds for the 2025 budget, now almost halfway through the fiscal year.

Speaking on Friday at a media and civil society roundtable held in Abuja, Fayemi described the delay as deeply concerning and a clear indication of disconnect between the National Assembly’s budget appropriation process and the executive’s budget implementation.

“June is in two days. Yet not one naira of the 2025 budget has been released to any Ministry, Department, and Agency (MDA),” Fayemi declared. “This is a glaring example of the disconnect between the appropriation process and actual budget implementation.”

The event, themed “The Relevance of the FOI Act in Electoral Transparency and Accountability,” was organised by the International Press Centre (IPC) with support from the European Union’s Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) Phase II programme. The roundtable also marked the 14th anniversary of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

During the occasion, Fayemi took the opportunity to reflect on Nigeria’s democratic journey and the ongoing struggle for transparency and accountability in governance.

He commended civil society organisations such as the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Media Rights Agenda (MRA), and the IPC for their relentless efforts in advancing transparency across the country.

“This work is a long struggle in gestation. CLO provided the space from which MRA and others emerged. Even IPC started from that push for accountability,” Fayemi remarked.

Recalling his decision to publicly declare his assets while serving as governor in 2010, he noted that the move was met with resistance but was necessary.

“I asked: what is ‘public’ about a secret asset declaration?” he questioned.

Fayemi further highlighted the pivotal role the FOI Act has played in uncovering corrupt practices such as budget padding, project insertions, and fictitious contracts. He referenced the contribution of the civic tech platform BudgIT in holding the government accountable.

However, he cautioned that mere availability of information does not guarantee good governance.

“You can have information without transparency, and transparency without accountability. Power knows the truth—it just chooses when to use it,” he stated.

He also pointed to his leadership of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the implementation of the State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) programme as evidence of his commitment to open governance.

According to Fayemi, Ekiti State was among the first to publish contract and procurement data online, thereby enabling public scrutiny of government expenditures.

“Under SFTAS, we encouraged peer review among states. You could go on the Ekiti procurement portal and see who got what contract, for how much, and under what terms,” he added.

The delayed budget release and fiscal management challenges remain critical issues for Nigeria’s democratic and economic stability, as highlighted during the roundtable.