KEY POINTS

• NASENI budgeted N298bn for salaries with zero capital expenditure.
• NELFUND spent N175.1M mostly on personnel expenses.
• N14trn is the highest portion of the budget, going to defence sector.

In the 2025 fiscal year, the Federal Government has also allocated N298.4 billion to the National Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) exclusively for recurrent expenditure.

This allocation is contained in the N47.9 trillion ‘Budget of Restoration’ currently considered by the National Assembly.

Its just a budget that has a budget deficit of N9 trillion, with emphasis on sectors such as security, infrastructure, education, agriculture and health.

However, despite giving NASENI a huge allocation, capital expenditure for critical infrastructure projects is not provided for. But they will use the funds for salaries, wages, and other personnel expenses.

Defence and education sectors also affected

Similarly, while the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) received an allocation of N175.1 million, the government allocated N124 million for personnel expenses, and set capital allocation to zero. N8.6 billion (of which N5.2 billion is for (recurring) expenditures) went to Defence Research and Development Bureau.

However, the defence sector got the largest chunk, voting up N14 trillion in the 2025 budget, more than any other sector and showing that the government’s biggest focus, as far as the budget was concerned, was national security.

Funding gaps mean focus on restoration

The chronic problem of capital funding for key institutions such as NASENI and NELFUND raises questions about infrastructure development in all sectors of national importance.

The budget indicates that the government’s attempt to keep promises for what it considers national priorities is under great financial constraints.