Lawmakers Commend Transport Ministry’s 2025 Budget Performance Despite Shortfall
By Stella Enenche, Abuja
The Joint Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee on Land Transport has commended the Federal Ministry of Transportation for its performance in the 2025 fiscal year, despite receiving only about one per cent of its approved capital budget.
The commendation followed the presentation and defence of the Ministry’s 2026 budget proposal by the Minister of Transportation, Senator Said Alkali, before the joint committee on Tuesday in Abuja.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Adamu Aliero, alongside the co-chair, Rep. Blessing Onuh, described the Ministry’s performance as impressive in spite of severe funding constraints and delayed cash backing experienced in 2025.
Aliero said the Ministry’s ability to secure private-sector funding commitments of about $200 million under such conditions was commendable, describing it as a positive outlook for the land transport sector.
He noted that budget performance across key transport agencies in 2025 was generally weak due to poor capital releases, adding that the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT) and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) received no capital funding and relied mainly on overhead allocations for maintenance and rehabilitation.
Onuh described the Minister’s presentation as detailed and explanatory, noting that the committee was already familiar with the challenges confronting budget implementation in the sector.
She disclosed that the joint committee plans to embark on oversight visits to selected projects, including the Kano–Maradi rail line, in March.
She also congratulated the Minister on the approval of the National Transport Policy, describing it as a long-overdue milestone for Nigeria’s transport sector.
Earlier, Senator Alkali explained that the 2026 budget proposal largely consolidates the 2025 Appropriation, with about 70 per cent of projects rolled over due to funding constraints and delayed cash backing.
He said the projects were reviewed and aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, with emphasis on completing ongoing projects and protecting public investments.
The Minister listed key achievements to include the approval of the National Land Transport Policy 2025 and the proposed De-Sadel Nigeria Limited integrated high-speed rail, power generation and natural gas project spanning about 4,000 kilometres nationwide under a Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain (DBFOM) model.
He said priorities in the 2026 budget include the development of modern bus terminals, railway expansion, improved port connectivity and the continuation of projects under the Nigerian Railway Modernisation Programme.
On budget performance, Alkali disclosed that the Ministry recorded about 59 per cent overhead utilisation in 2025, while capital releases stood at roughly one per cent and were largely not cash-backed.
He added that NITT, the Federal University of Transportation, Daura, and the NRC recorded average overhead utilisation of between 57 and 58 per cent with no capital releases.
The Minister identified funding gaps affecting major rail projects, vandalism of railway assets and the need for the speedy passage of the Nigerian Railway Act (Amendment) Bill as key challenges requiring legislative support.
He appealed to the National Assembly to support and approve the Ministry’s 2026 budget proposal, noting that it is aimed at consolidating ongoing projects, expanding transport infrastructure, decongesting major commercial centres and driving economic growth and national integration.
