Dino Melaye Raises Alarm As Six Federal Ministries Receive Meagre Capital Funds Despite Billions In Budget
Dino Melaye Raises Alarm As Six Federal Ministries Receive Meagre Capital Funds Despite Billions In Budget
Former Nigerian Senator Dino Melaye has raised concerns over the low release of capital funds to several federal ministries, questioning the gap between approved budgetary allocations and the actual funds made available for project execution.
Melaye highlighted the funding situation across six key ministries, including Women Affairs, Marine and Blue Economy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Water Resources, and Agriculture and Food Security.
According to the figures he presented, the Ministry of Women Affairs received just ₦394.8 million out of its approved ₦89.8 billion capital budget, representing approximately 0.44 per cent of the allocation.
Similarly, the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy reportedly received ₦202 million, while the Ministry of Transportation received only ₦2.5 billion out of its approved ₦256.7 billion capital budget.
The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development also reportedly received just ₦2 billion from its ₦100 billion capital allocation, despite the enormous responsibility of addressing Nigeria’s housing deficit, estimated at more than 22 million units.
The situation was not significantly different in other critical sectors.
The Ministry of Water Resources received only ₦1 billion out of its ₦80 billion capital budget, while the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security reportedly received ₦3 billion from its ₦120 billion allocation.
The figures have drawn attention to questions surrounding budget implementation, capital funding priorities and the capacity of government ministries to execute critical development projects when only a small proportion of their approved funds is released.
The affected ministries oversee sectors directly connected to citizens’ welfare, including food security, housing, transportation, water supply, women’s empowerment and economic development.
The development raises important questions about the relationship between budgetary approvals and actual government spending, particularly the impact of delayed or inadequate capital releases on public projects and service delivery.
Melaye’s intervention has renewed attention on the need for transparency, accountability and improved budget implementation across federal ministries.
Note: The figures are attributed to Dino Melaye. The Marine and Blue Economy figure requires clarification: available reports identify the ministry’s 2025 revised capital budget as ₦3.53 billion, not ₦353 billion. The stated percentage should also be independently reconciled with the underlying figures
