A significant rift has opened between the National Assembly and the presidency after a majority of House of Representatives members on Tuesday, July 7, voted to compel President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his economic team to appear before parliament and account for the persistent failure to implement successive appropriation budgets.
Motion Highlights Budget Funding Gaps
The showdown was triggered by a motion sponsored by Hon. Alex Ikwechegh, who represents the Aba North/Aba South Federal Constituency in Abia State. The motion was titled 'Urgent need to address the poor funding of appropriated budgets and delayed releases to MDAs as revealed during the 2026 budget defence sessions.'
Ikwechegh told the House that disclosures made during the 2026 budget defence sessions revealed alarming funding gaps under the 2025 budget, with some sectors recording zero capital releases across the entire fiscal year. He noted that indigenous contractors had staged protests outside the Federal Ministry of Finance and the National Assembly gates, some unable to repay bank loans taken to execute government projects.
President's Directive Ignored
'The credibility of the budget rests not only on the size of the figures appropriated, but on the fidelity, timeliness with which appropriation funds are released, cash-backed, and utilized for ministries, departments, and agencies,' Ikwechegh said.
He recalled that President Tinubu, at a Federal Executive Council meeting on December 10, 2025, directed the immediate settlement of verified contractor liabilities estimated at approximately N1.5 trillion and ordered the formation of an inter-ministerial committee to fast-track payments. Despite the directive and legislative approvals for borrowing in excess of N1 trillion to clear outstanding obligations, Ikwechegh said fund releases to Ministries, Departments and Agencies remained virtually nonexistent.
The lawmaker also raised concern over a Treasury circular dated June 29, 2026, from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, which imposed an additional verification requirement from the Federal Ministry of Special Duties before constituency project payments could proceed. He described this as another bureaucratic bottleneck that contradicted the President's own instruction for speed.
Speaker Blocks Summoning Clause
Before Ikwechegh moved his motion, Hon. Benedict Etanabene, representing the Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie Federal Constituency of Delta State, had raised a constitutional point of order, citing Sections 4, 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution to argue that the legislature had a duty to demand accountability over budgets it approved. He called on the House to summon the President and his financial team to the chamber.
'We cannot explain to the constituents what is happening. Today, we collect money. We will not be able to give a proper explanation for it. The budgets are not being implemented. Presently, in Nigeria today, we are implementing 2024, 2025 and 2026 budgets running concurrently,' Etanabene said.
Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, however, ruled the summoning aspect out of order, stating that 'such action is unparliamentary.' Despite his intervention, the chamber remained tense, with the motion drawing widespread support across party lines and attempts to oppose it drowned out by protests from fellow lawmakers.
Political Implications
Many of the agitated members are said to be concerned about their political fortunes ahead of 2027, with stalled zonal intervention projects threatening their ability to show results to constituents.
