The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has faulted the processes leading to the preparation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill and its subsequent presentation last Friday, to a joint sitting of the National Assembly.

Lead Director, CSJ, Eze Onyekpere said the 2026/2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEFT/FSP, precursor to the budget proposal, violated the Fiscal Responsibility Act in terms of timing and public participation in its formulation.

Onyekpere, a lawyer and public finance management expert argued that the timing of the MTEF and the Budget Call Circular were flawed and blamed the Executive for its failure to abide by the principal legislation guiding the budgeting process in Nigeria.

“By S.14 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), the Minister (of Finance) shall before the end of the second quarter of each financial year, present the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework to the Federal Executive Council for consideration and endorsement.

This clearly states that the MTEF should have been endorsed by the FEC by the end of June and forwarded to NASS in July for their approval. “The MTEF is the foundation policy planning documentation for the preparation of the annual budget.

Presenting same for the approval of NASS in the second week of December is an inexcusable failure.The Call Circular comes immediately after the MTEF has been approved. Ideally, it is expected that the MTEF should be approved by NASS before they embark on their mid- year vacation.

This implies that the MTEF should be approved between late July and early August to enable MDA (Ministries Departments and Agencies) budget preparation and bilateral discussions to proceed thereafter,” he said. Onyekpere also faulted the process for lacking transparency and absence of citizens participation.