Senate Rejects Special Duties Ministry’s 2026 Budget Over Omission of National Honours Funding
The Senate Committee on Special Duties has rejected the 2026 budget proposal of the Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, describing the allocation as grossly inadequate and inconsistent with the ministry’s nationwide mandate.
The rejection followed a tense budget defence session chaired by Senator Kaka Shehu Lawan (Borno Central), where lawmakers strongly criticised the omission of funding for the National Honours programme, despite presidential approval for a new list of awardees.
Minister Zephaniah Bitrus Jisalo had just concluded his presentation when senators raised concerns over what they described as a glaring disparity between the ministry’s broad statutory responsibilities and its limited financial releases.
Senator Abdul Ningi expressed dissatisfaction with the funding structure, noting that the ministry received a total appropriation of ₦5.2 billion in 2025, out of which only ₦1.8 billion was released.
He questioned whether the ministry was being reduced to merely paying salaries rather than executing its core mandates, lamenting what he described as systemic bureaucratic constraints that have weakened its operations. Ningi added that some local government councils control larger annual budgets than the ministry, highlighting what he termed an alarming imbalance in resource allocation.
Committee Chairman Senator Lawan also queried whether the Federal Executive Council truly considered the ministry a strategic national institution or merely an administrative appendage, citing the poor release pattern of funds in 2025.
The strongest criticism came from Senator Onawo, who described as unacceptable the failure to provide adequate funding for the National Honours — one of the ministry’s primary statutory responsibilities. He argued that it was inappropriate for deserving Nigerians to be denied official recognition due to lack of funds for medal production.
Responding, Minister Jisalo acknowledged the funding shortfall and disclosed that the ministry lacked the resources to produce the honours, prompting it to seek legislative intervention. Lawmakers were further alarmed to learn that although ₦240 million was released for capital expenditure in 2025, the ministry recorded zero execution of capital projects.
The committee consequently ruled that the exclusion of the presidential list of honourees from the 2026 budget proposal rendered the submission incomplete and unacceptable.
Senator Lawan directed the minister to liaise with the Budget Office of the Federation to ensure that funding for the National Honours is properly captured in a revised proposal. He warned that failure to comply by Monday would result in the Senate invoking its constitutional oversight powers to summon officials of the Budget Office.
