Make una gather around as we dey gist about wetin dey happen for our state assemblies.
No fewer than 13 State Houses of Assembly for Naija don add over N1 trillion to their 2026 budgets. Dis matter dey hot, as e follow legislative reviews and amendments wey governors don present. Na so Saturday PUNCH catch the gist as dem analyze di budget proposals wey governors show and di final laws wey di assemblies pass.
Na serious wahala dis, as di public don dey shout make dem reduce di cost of governance. People dey fear say di fiscal strain don too much, plus di huge debt wey dey hang like heavy chain for di necks of sub-national governments. Year by year, state governors dey prepare annual budget proposals wey dem dey call appropriation bills, and dem dey carry am go Assembly for consideration, amendment, and approval.
Di breakdown of di proposals get two major parts—recurrent expenditure wey dey cover personnel costs, overheads, pensions, and all di routine government wahala, and capital expenditure wey dey address infrastructure and development projects. For di first half of 2025, about 20 states dey borrow roughly N458 billion, according to wetin dem report for their second-quarter budget implementation. E no funny as dem spend N235.58 billion just to service external debts, which don increase sharply by N95.65 billion—adi wahala wey dey show say money dey finish for ground!
This year, 10 states dey plan to source about N4.287 trillion from loans and grants just to manage their budget deficits. Na serious wahala! Di pressure dey high, as people dey call for Assembly to cut di cost of governance, especially by trimming di budget sizes wey dey cause wahala like this!
But wetin we go see? Lawmakers for some states dey continue to jack up budgets wey their governors submit. For 2025 alone, about 15 state assemblies don increase their budgets by N470 billion. Di states wey join di partying include Bayelsa, Ondo, Gombe, Edo, Oyo, and more. As we dey talk, 30 states don sign their 2026 budgets into law, while only four dey still dey scrutinize am.
Some states wey don increase their budgets na Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Kano, Benue, Gombe, and di rest. Na Lagos State House of Assembly carry di biggest wahala as dem increase dem budget by N207.51 billion, making di total budget rise from N4.237 trillion to N4.44 trillion. Dis governors dey raise budget pass dem PAs!
Akwa Ibom State follow closely, as dem add N194 billion to raise dem budget from N1.39 trillion to N1.58 trillion. Cross River no wan lag behind too, as dem add N180 billion. Di trend dey continue, with plenty lawmakers dey inflate budgets instead of trimming dem down.
Di implications no dey far from reality. Experts dey fear say dis legislative wahala go widen fiscal deficits by increasing di gap between wetin dem expect to earn and di actual spending wey dey go on. Professor Taiwo Owoeye from Federal University of Oye Ekiti don talk say di extra spending pressure go push dem into deeper debt wahala.
As we dey observe, dis kind budget inflation no dey limit to di states alone o! Even for di federal level, National Assembly don dey raise national budget estimates pass wetin di executive propose, na so dem plug in 7,447 constituency projects wey no get national significance. Na wah o!
So my people, e be like say our state assemblies dey sabi chop budget well well. Make we dey watch how dis one go affect di future of our economy. Na true say we need economic development, but dem legislators dey carry di koko like say na dem own pocket! Make una shine your eye!
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