Economic analysts are questioning the Federal Government’s claim that it achieved 85 per cent of its capital expenditure in the 2024 fiscal year, citing transparency concerns, delays in contractor payments, and a lack of independent project verification.

The scrutiny follows comments by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, at the 2026 Macroeconomic Outlook event in Lagos, where he said capital spending under the 2024 budget reached 85 per cent after the government extended the budget’s implementation period.

“In terms of the capital budget, the budget, at the end of the day, is a law of the National Assembly. They extended the 2024 budget for the full year to ensure that projects were completed,” the minister told the audience.

He said this decision resulted in strong execution levels, adding that “in aggregate, capital expenditure in 2024 reached 85 per cent performance.”

While the government maintains that the extension and increased allocations ensured strong execution of infrastructure projects, economists say the reported figures remain unsubstantiated.

Economist Aliyu Ilias expressed scepticism, stressing that independent oversight is essential for public trust.

“I think what they are saying can only be believed by those who are saying it because the fact remains that transparency is key. I don’t think a government executive, in particular, should be the one telling us; it should be the people with the oversight function, like the National Assembly, to come and see it,” Ilias said.

“When bringing a budget, they should tell us how the last one performed. They failed to do that. The previous budget suffered a lot of rollovers, so how can we be sure it’s not even a combination of two years’ budgets? It’s difficult for us to believe, so we don’t have trust in it.”

The analyst also pointed to unresolved payments to contractors, noting that capital projects like roads, primary healthcare, quality education, and social amenities are often neglected despite being central to economic development.

“Debt service is an obligation, and the government will find ways to meet it, but capital expenditure often suffers neglect. That does not help the economy, which is why Nigeria is not yet where it should be in terms of social infrastructure,” Ilias said.

Earlier, renowned Professor of Economics, Akpan Ekpo, said the effect of the capital outlay was not being felt due to delays in disbursement.

“It’s capital expenditure that enhances growth. Now he’s talking about 2024, which has almost a one-year or nearly two-year lag. For the 2025 budget, only 17 per cent of the capital expenditure has been released. We are not feeling the impact because of the delay in releases,” Ekpo said.

He added, “The delay in releases is a problem. The impact is not felt. Capital expenditure supports growth and development. We hope that, as the President has said, by March there will no longer be these delays. Right now, 2026 is to start, while 2025 has not ended yet because of capital releases.”

Former Zenith Bank chief economist Marcel Okeke defended the government’s claims, noting that, in the absence of other official data, there is little basis to dispute the numbers.

“My position is this: there’s no way you can counter whatever figure has been released because we are talking about projects. No other authority has provided any figure before now,” Okeke said.

The National Assembly had extended the 2024 budget to December 2025 to allow ongoing projects to be completed. The 2024 budget was initially set at N35.06tn, with N13.77tn earmarked for capital expenditure.

In December 2025, the House of Representatives revised the budget to N43.56tn, increasing capital spending to N22.27tn while keeping debt service and statutory transfers largely unchanged. The revision effectively repealed the original Appropriation Act and extended the budget’s implementation period to ensure ongoing projects could be completed.

“Unlike previous cases where revenue projections differed, there’s nothing to compare; it’s only this figure that has been released. To challenge it, you would need to check nationwide whether there are projects on which those sums are being spent. Without that, or any other document, you can’t fault him. You have no position to fault him. This reflects the commitments of the economy and the merits of finance,” the economist stated.

Okeke added that ongoing construction projects across the country support the government’s claims but acknowledged that a comprehensive independent report would be necessary to confirm the figures.