Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has appealed to the National Assembly to review and increase the ₦134.2 billion allocation proposed for her ministry in the 2026 federal budget.
The request was made during the ministry’s budget defence before lawmakers. The minister argued that the current allocation may not be sufficient. It may not tackle the growing challenges affecting women, children, and vulnerable groups across the country.
According to the proposal, a significant chunk of the ₦134.2 billion is earmarked for capital projects, while smaller portions are allocated to personnel and overhead costs. However, concerns were raised by members of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs over the ministry’s 2025 budget performance.
Committee Chairperson, Ireti Kingibe, questioned the level of implementation of the previous year’s budget before considering any upward adjustment. Lawmakers pointed out that the ministry experienced extremely low releases in 2025, which affected programme execution.
The minister, in her defence, explained that the poor performance was largely due to late and inadequate fund releases. She disclosed that only a fraction of the capital and overhead allocations for 2025 were eventually disbursed. This made it nearly impossible to execute planned projects effectively.
The development highlights the recurring challenge within Nigeria’s budget system. Allocations on paper do not always translate into actual cash backing. Analysts say unless release mechanisms improve, increasing allocations alone may not solve implementation bottlenecks.
As the 2026 appropriation process continues, the National Assembly is expected to further scrutinise the ministry’s spending plans before making a final decision on the proposed review.
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