By Joy Odor Reportcircle News
Nigeria’s lawmakers are preparing a rare direct engagement with the Presidency after uncovering what they describe as a dangerous contradiction: a national security emergency declared without matching financial firepower.
The National Assembly says it will formally approach Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the persistent non-release of capital allocations to security and intelligence agencies, a gap legislators warn could weaken the country’s stability ahead of the next election cycle.
The disclosure came after closed-door deliberations between lawmakers and heads of security institutions.
Chairman of the intelligence oversight committee, Yahaya Abdullahi, confirmed the funding paralysis extends beyond defence agencies to multiple Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The problem, however, becomes most critical in the security sector.
“If there is an emergency, there must be funding to back that emergency,” he said, warning that declarations without resources risk becoming symbolic gestures.
Lawmakers now plan to transmit a unified report from both chambers directly to the President through the leadership of the legislature.
The Committee believes 2026 is politically sensitive, with security conditions expected to shape the credibility of future elections.
Without capital releases, agencies cannot procure equipment, upgrade surveillance capability or maintain operational readiness, leaving them dependent on recurrent expenditure alone.
In practical terms, that means salaries are paid but tools for enforcement may not exist.
Security agencies, the lawmakers argue, cannot fulfill constitutional duties “on paper budgets.”
The Assembly says it may seek a face-to-face intervention with the President to prevent the situation from escalating.
Their objective: align the emergency security posture with real financial commitments.
The lawmakers intend to recommend immediate steps to ensure agencies receive funds necessary for operations rather than delayed releases after crises occur.
Beyond funding delays, the committee also opened a second front, Nigeria’s long-standing budgeting method.
The controversial “envelope budgeting system,” introduced during the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo, allocates funds based on fixed ceilings rather than institutional needs.
Senators now say the model has become obsolete.
“We are budgeting on available money, not on national needs,” Abdullahi said, describing the framework as inconsistent with current security realities.
Instead, lawmakers are pushing for a needs-based budgeting structure where national priorities particularly security determine allocations.
The Committee will open consultations with the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office of the Federation to redesign the budgeting approach.
Key proposals under consideration include:
Priority-driven funding for security institutions
Replacement of ceiling-based allocations
Faster capital release mechanisms
Alignment of funding with threat assessments
A formal report is already being prepared for submission to the Appropriations Committee and National Assembly leadership.
The dispute marks a shift in legislative tone from oversight to intervention.
For Lawmakers, the issue is no longer administrative but strategic: whether Nigeria’s security policy is supported by resources or rhetoric.
If the planned meeting with the President proceeds, it could become one of the most consequential fiscal-security engagements between the executive and legislature in recent years, determining whether the country funds its threats before or after they materialise.
