Senator Seriake Dickson, representing Bayelsa West, has raised serious concerns over what he described as the collapse of governance under President Bola Tinubu, citing the government’s failure to implement the capital portion of the 2024 national budget.
Speaking during Tuesday’s plenary, the lawmaker decried the administration’s shift in focus toward political maneuvering ahead of the 2027 elections, rather than delivering on its development agenda.
“Government has grounded, that’s what it means,” Dickson said.
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He expressed frustration that contractors who have completed projects are not being paid, while citizens have yet to feel the impact of the budget passed by the National Assembly.
According to him, although the recurrent segment of the budget—covering salaries and running costs—has been fully expended, the capital allocation, which should drive national development and benefit ordinary Nigerians, has not been released.
“The component that has not been released, that is still stagnant, nothing is moving forward, is the real one that goes to the people of Nigeria — for the development of our country, for all the people that we represent, so it’s a very sad situation,” he lamented.
Dickson, a former Governor of Bayelsa State noted that there have even been public demonstrations by unpaid contractors who are demanding compensation for completed works.
“You recall that some weeks back, contractors, out of frustration and anger, I hear, even staged demonstrations. A number of you on this floor may be familiar with that,” he added.
His remarks came amid discussions on a motion introduced by Senator Solomon Adeola, who chairs the Senate Committee on Appropriation. The motion proposed an extension of the capital budget implementation window to December 31, 2025.
While Dickson expressed support for the extension, he criticized the absence of a concrete explanation for the delay.
“Unlike other motions and debates he (Adeola) has led, for which we have always supported — even from this isle — the chairman today has not given compelling reasons why this extension has become necessary,” he said.
“I don’t want to hazard any guess, but from this aisle, you all know what is happening. Maybe there is too much preoccupation with politics and 2027.
“Maybe there is too much concentration on receiving defectors all across the country, and people are not looking at the big picture.”
He insisted that the lack of capital budget execution is not due to a shortage of funds, especially since the removal of petrol subsidies has led to increased revenue inflows for all tiers of government.
“All of us supported the withdrawal of fuel subsidies, meaning that there is even more money,” he said.“State governments and local governments are getting far more money — which is good. So, the availability of money is not the challenge.
“The reason the capital component of the budget has not moved forward for the benefit of Nigerians is not because there is no money.”
To address the situation, Dickson proposed that a joint probe be conducted by the committees on finance and appropriation.
“As a matter of fact, both committees, led by the appropriation committee and perhaps the committee on finance as well, should jointly, within the next one week, undertake an inquiry and report back to us why this has happened. So that we don’t have this happening again,” he urged.
Also speaking during the session, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North) criticized the federal government’s handling of the 2024 budget, warning that public trust is rapidly eroding.
“I think the leadership of the national assembly should engage, even if it means going to the Mr President because the country is financially bleeding,” he said.
“People are losing confidence in the capacity of the government to deliver on its own projects and promises.”