FG Explains Delay in Budget Performance Reports
By Patience Ikpeme
The federal government has announced that it will release the full-year 2024 Budget Performance Report (BPR) by the end of September 2025.
This will be followed by consolidated reports for the first and second quarters of 2025, after which the regular quarterly publications will resume on schedule.
The Budget Office of the Federation (BoF) made the disclosure in a statement, explaining the reasons for the delay and outlining its plans to improve transparency.
According to the BoF, the delay in publishing the reports was due to two main factors. First, the verification and reconciliation processes for the reports took longer than expected. The BoF explained that BPRs are more than just financial summaries; they involve integrating expenditure data with physical checks of projects across the country. These verification and reconciliation missions with government agencies were more time-consuming than anticipated because of the sheer size and widespread location of the projects.
The second reason for the delay was the transition to an extended fiscal framework. The BoF said that because policy discussions were already leaning toward a longer budget cycle, releasing reports based on the old cycle would have created conflicting data and misled stakeholders. As a result, the reporting timelines were temporarily adjusted to maintain accuracy and consistency in the government’s fiscal disclosures.
To address the gap and restore predictability, the BoF is taking specific steps. A provisional BPR for 2024 will be released by the end of September, which will offer a reliable snapshot of fiscal performance while the detailed project-level verification continues.
The office will also resume its on-schedule publications for all BPRs starting with the third quarter of 2025, in line with the requirements of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA). For the first and second quarters of 2025, which are overdue, consolidated reports will be published alongside the full-year 2024 update.
The BoF said it is also working to improve its monitoring systems, increase collaboration with government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), and expand the digital integration of expenditure and project data. These measures are intended to ensure future reports are both timely and accurate.
The federal government said it is committed to upholding Nigeria’s credibility with citizens, markets, and partners by publishing reliable data, restoring predictability to fiscal reporting, and continuously improving transparency and accountability.
