The Federal Government on Monday said the implementation of capital projects across the country is significantly higher than figures often reported in the public domain, promising to launch a more transparent reporting system that will enable Nigerians to track budget performance in real time.
The government also disclosed that President Bola Tinubu had directed the harmonisation of federal projects to improve transparency, coordination and public accountability.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, stated this during a panel session titled “Reforms in Focus: The Milestones, the Challenges, the Prospects,” at the fifth Nigeria Employers’ Summit in Abuja.
The panel session also had in attendance the Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority, Kelechi Ohiri; the Principal Economist and Lead, Economic Transformation and Competitiveness at the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Wilson Erumebor; and the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf.
The minister admitted that the government could do better in budget implementation but maintained that the narrative around poor execution of capital projects did not fully reflect reality.
He said, “On public finance and budget implementation, especially capital projects, I would agree that we can do much better with our budget, including what we budget for and how we implement it.
“But I can also tell you that budget implementation is far better than what you see and what you hear. Take capital budget implementation, for example. Some of it is not properly reported.
“You see, some of the execution of capital projects is done at the agency level. Some of them are landmark and legacy projects, and because of the nature of these projects, the reporting does not come in immediately.”
According to him, the delay in reporting has created a gap between actual project implementation and public perception. He said the Ministry of Finance was already working on a system that would provide a clearer and more transparent picture of government spending and project execution.
“Part of the work we are doing at the Ministry of Finance is to provide this reporting in a way that is clear and transparent. Very soon, you will find that the information will be readily available simply by going to the Ministry of Finance website.
“You will see that the percentage of implementation of capital projects is much more than what you read in the newspapers,” he stated.
Oyedele further disclosed that the government was working with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to reform project implementation and consolidate information on federal projects on one platform.
“We are also working with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning on the reforms that we need for projects. Mr President has already given the direction that we should harmonise the projects. Having just one platform where you can find everything at once is a lot better for transparency and accountability,” he said.
The minister also defended the government’s rising debt servicing costs, saying the increase was largely driven by higher interest rates adopted to tame inflation. According to him, many critics fail to appreciate the difficult fiscal trade-offs confronting the government.
“Sometimes when I listen to economists speak on television, I just wish we could balance the narratives much better. We know that because of the reforms, we experienced volatility, and one of the outcomes was higher inflation. To fight inflation, the monetary authorities had to raise interest rates.
