Former Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has revealed that the Federal Government has not released any funds from the 2025 national budget, despite being nearly halfway through the year.
Speaking at a media and civil society roundtable in Abuja on Friday, Fayemi stated that no ministry, department, or agency (MDA) had received a single naira for budget implementation.
“June is in two days. Yet not one naira of the 2025 budget has been released to any MDA,” Fayemi said, describing the situation as a troubling disconnect between the National Assembly’s appropriations and the executive’s budget implementation.
The event, themed “The Relevance of the FOI Act in Electoral Transparency and Accountability”, was organised by the International Press Centre (IPC) with support from the European Union under its EU-SDGN Phase II programme, marking the 14th anniversary of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
Fayemi used the occasion to reflect on Nigeria’s democratic journey, the importance of open governance, and the persistent efforts of civil society to ensure transparency.
He commended early pioneers like the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Media Rights Agenda (MRA), and the IPC for pushing the accountability agenda forward.
“This work is a long struggle in gestation,” he said. “CLO provided the space from which MRA and others emerged. Even IPC started from that push for accountability.”
The former Ekiti State Governor also recalled publicly declaring his assets in 2010 during his tenure, noting that transparency should not be shrouded in secrecy.
“I asked: what is ‘public’ about a secret asset declaration?”
Fayemi credited the FOI Act with uncovering issues such as padded budgets, inserted projects, and ghost contracts, citing recent revelations by civic tech platform BudgIT. However, he emphasized that access to information alone isn’t enough.
“You can have information without transparency, and transparency without accountability. Power knows the truth—it just chooses when to use it,” he remarked.
Highlighting governance reforms, he referenced the State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) programme, which he led as chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. He said Ekiti was among the first states to make contract and procurement data public online.
“Under SFTAS, we promoted peer review among states. Anyone could go on the Ekiti procurement portal and see who got what contract, for how much, and under what terms.”
In his welcome address, IPC Executive Director, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, described the roundtable as a vital platform for assessing the FOI Act’s role in enhancing democratic governance.
He also noted that Ekiti State was the first in the country to enact its own FOI law, during Fayemi’s tenure, and used the occasion to present him with a belated 2021 IPC FOI Champions Award in recognition of the milestone.
Despite the FOI Act’s achievements, Arogundade expressed concern over its limited use by journalists, civil society groups, and citizens.
“The relatively low usage of the FOI Act is still a concern. But it remains a critical tool for transparency, especially in tracking political financing and electoral integrity.”
He reaffirmed IPC’s commitment to strengthening media professionalism, combating disinformation, and promoting inclusive electoral coverage through the EU-SDGN initiative.
“We hope this roundtable sparks not just dialogue but concrete action to improve FOI compliance across Nigeria,” he concluded.
