2025: Budget failures hobble infrastructure

President Bola Tinubu presenting the 2025 budget proposal to members of the National Assembly on Wednesday, December 18, 2024 in Abuja. Photo Credit: Presidency

Kindly share this story:

AS Nigeria stumbles toward the close of 2025, a veil of uncertainty hangs heavy over its developmental aspirations.

The much-touted “Budget of Restoration,” unveiled by President Bola Tinubu on December 17, 2024, promised renewal but delivered disappointment amid relentless fiscal headwinds.

Proposing a staggering N54.9 trillion in expenditure, a 41.9 per cent jump in naira terms from 2024, the budget masked a harsh 23.2 per cent contraction in dollar value, battered by the naira’s devaluation, and hovering between N1,600/$ and N1,450/$ by year-end, per CBN data.

Tinubu hailed it as “an ambitious but necessary budget to secure our future,” channelling N23.96 trillion toward capital projects, with infrastructure as the crown jewel.

Yet, a yawning N13.2 trillion deficit, equivalent to 4.0 per cent of GDP, coupled with debt servicing costs gobbling up N14.9 trillion (27 per cent of total spend), and overly rosy revenue projections of N34.8 trillion that fell short by at least 75 per cent according to the Finance Minister, Wale Edun, derailed execution.

Oil revenues, Nigeria’s lifeline, dipped amid softening Brent crude prices hovering at $70-$75 per barrel through much of the year, per OPEC updates, while non-oil targets crumbled under subdued economic activity.

The fallout was dire. Roads and power grids across the federation showed scant improvement.

Flagship initiatives like the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, launched with fanfare in May 2025, advanced modestly: 47km at the Lagos end opened temporarily in December, easing some coastal traffic but exposing design flaws and cost overruns now pegged at N15 trillion, as flagged by the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi.

Similarly, the 37km Bodo-Bonny Road in Rivers State swung open, bridging Bonny Island’s oil hub to the mainland and unlocking economic potential in the Niger Delta.

On June 6, Tinubu rolled out a slate of nationwide projects, including federal highways and transport corridors.

Umahi touted 260 completed palliative road fixes and 440 ongoing mega-projects, from the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway to the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline.

Railways edged forward too: the Kano-Kaduna Standard Gauge line hit 67 per cent completion, while the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway finally eased some bottlenecks after years of delays.

Power efforts included the 255MW Kaduna plant’s opening and gas initiatives under the AKK project, alongside a N712 billion bid to revamp Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport. In the Federal Capital Territory, new roads unlocked satellite towns, boosting connectivity.

Yet, these glimmers of hope faded against Nigeria’s colossal infrastructure chasm. The country’s stock languishes at 30-35 per cent of GDP.

It falls below the World Bank’s 70 per cent benchmark for middle-income peers and Africa’s 55 per cent average, demanding $100-$150 billion annually for three decades to close the $2.3 trillion to $3 trillion gap, as reiterated in the Bank’s 2025 Nigeria Development Update.

To lure private capital, the administration bolstered the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, approving smaller public-private partnerships, though investor wariness persists amid FX volatility and policy flip-flops.

This year’s budget was effectively derailed by capital release shortfalls. By December, capital expenditure absorption hovered below 30 per cent, per Ministry of Finance disclosures, forcing a 70 per cent rollover into 2026.

These failures turned internal highways into ordeals as Lagos-Asaba trips stretched to punishing 16-hour slogs amid potholes and gridlock, as documented in Nigerian Bureau of Statistics transport surveys.

Nationwide, deplorable roads fuelled economic drag. NBS data shows logistics costs at 40 per cent for businesses, quadruple the global norm.

While insecurity in the North-East and North-West crippled contractors, vandalism ravaged railways, and reliable power stayed a mirage, with grid collapses hitting 105 times in the last decade, per the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

Looking ahead, 2026 looms stormier. Opposition mounts against new tax reforms like the Tax Reform Bills, oil prices wobble, and borrowing surges even as external debt now exceeds $42 billion.

Ending 2025 with just 30 per cent infrastructure delivery indicts execution capacity, rendering budgets hollow echoes.

Therefore, Nigeria demands bolder revenue strategies, ironclad project timelines, and security stabilisation to translate fiscal promises into tangible relief for citizens enduring the daily grind.

Kindly share this story:

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

Contact: [email protected]

UPDATE NEWS: Nigerians can now invest ₦2.5million on premium domains and profit about ₦17-₦25Million. All earnings paid in US Dollars. Rather than wonder, 👉 click here to find out how it work (Be sure to ask for evidence of clients that have benefitted from this)

Stay informed and ahead of the curve! Follow The Punch Newspaper on WhatsApp for real-time updates, breaking news, and exclusive content. Don't miss a headline – join now!

Stay in the know—fast. Get instant alerts, breaking headlines, and exclusive stories with the Punch News App. Download now and never miss a beat.