Overlapping Budgets Threaten Nigeria’s Fiscal Coordination
LCCI Warns Delayed Budget Passage Could Disrupt Fiscal Cycle
Concerns Over 2026 Budget Timing
THE Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has raised concerns that the National Assembly’s handling of the 2026 budget may disrupt the established January-to-December fiscal cycle. While the ₦58.472 trillion budget passed second reading in the Senate, the LCCI questioned whether lawmakers could complete robust deliberations and enact the Appropriation Act before the end of 2025.
Macroeconomic Implications
Dr. Chinyere Almona, LCCI Director-General, noted that the federal budget marks a shift from macroeconomic stabilization to growth acceleration, emphasizing capital expenditure of ₦26.08 trillion to boost infrastructure, industrial expansion, and productivity. However, she highlighted the ₦15.52 trillion allocation to debt servicing as a significant fiscal burden requiring stricter borrowing discipline and enhanced public-private partnerships.
Revenue and Assumption Risks
The LCCI flagged optimistic assumptions in the budget, including a $64.85 per barrel oil price benchmark and 1.84 million barrels per day production, compared with current realities of about $60 per barrel and 1.49 million bpd. Exchange rate and inflation projections also pose potential fiscal risks, particularly amid pre-election spending pressures.
Implementation Challenges
Almona stressed that Nigeria’s historically weak budget execution capacity, coupled with overlapping 2024, 2025, and 2026 budgets, could strain fiscal coordination and project delivery. She called for decisive execution in agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, energy, and human capital development to translate budgetary allocations into tangible economic outcomes.
