Rights Group Hits Finance Minister, Accountant-General Over Budget Crisis.

The Civil Rights Network on Accountability, CRNA, has appealed to the leadership of the National Assembly to issue a vote of no confidence on the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamsedeen Babatunde Ogunjimi, alleging what it described as a “total collapse” of fiscal management and budget implementation.

In a statement released in Abuja on Tuesday and signed by the president of the organisation, Chief Adekunle Ogunsiwaju, alongside its national secretary, Nkiru Okoye, CRNA stated that the failure of both officials to execute “a single percentage” of the 2025 budget several months into the financial year amounted to serious incompetence and a violation of public trust.

The organisation maintained that the development signals a dangerous breakdown at the core of government operations, warning that the finance ministry and the office of the accountant-general have turned into obstacles to governance instead of serving as channels for effective delivery.

“The continued failure of the minister of finance and the accountant-general of the federation to commence meaningful implementation of the 2025 budget is indefensible,” the statement reads.

“It shows clear incompetence, absence of coordination, and a troubling lack of transparency and accountability in the discharge of their constitutional responsibilities.”

CRNA stressed that budget execution is not a symbolic task but the foundation of governance, noting that delays originating from the finance ministry and treasury result in abandoned projects, unsettled financial obligations, increasing public anger and worsening economic hardship.

According to the group, when officials responsible for managing national finances are unable to activate even the most basic aspects of an approved and signed budget, the situation goes beyond administrative weakness and becomes a governance emergency. It added that Nigerians have every right to question “what exactly the minister of finance and the accountant-general have been doing while the country bleeds,” as contained in the statement.

The group further cautioned that President Bola Tinubu’s decision to retain both officials in office, despite what it described as “persistent and glaring failures,” may severely damage the credibility of the administration and undermine its economic policies.

It stated that, “If the president continues to keep them in office as minister of finance and accountant-general, then Nigerians should prepare for the March 31 deadline for partial implementation of the 2025 budget to be in complete and total shambles. You cannot deliver fiscal discipline or economic reform with officials who have shown neither urgency nor capacity,” the group said.

CRNA accused the two officials of overseeing a system characterised by secrecy and weak communication, arguing that the lack of defined budget execution schedules and public accountability reports weakens citizens’ confidence in government institutions.

The group complained that, “There is no transparency as to cash releases, no accountability on budget performance, and no credible explanation to Nigerians for the paralysis we are witnessing. This level of dysfunction would not be tolerated in any serious democracy,” the citizens group declared.

It called on the leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives to apply their oversight mandate firmly, insisting that a vote of no confidence would send a strong message that administrative complacency and fiscal irresponsibility will not be overlooked.

According to the organisation, “The National Assembly must rise to its constitutional duty and act in defence of the Nigerian people. Passing a vote of no confidence is not an act of hostility; it is an act of responsibility when critical institutions of state have failed,” the group announced.

CRNA further warned that the continued stagnation of the budget would worsen poverty levels, delay infrastructure projects and further weaken public trust in government, especially at a period when citizens are already battling inflation and unemployment.

It concluded that the situation goes beyond politics and concerns competence and responsibility, stressing that Nigeria cannot afford a finance ministry and treasury leadership that have become symbols of delay, disorder and failure.