Nigeria’s Total Expenditure Drops 41.57% Below Budget Target in Q3 2025
FG spent N8.03tn in Q3 2025, missing its quarterly budget target despite a slight year-on-year increase
Nigeria’s total government expenditure in the third quarter of 2025 stood at N8.03 trillion, falling 41.57 percent short of its prorated quarterly budget target, according to the Budget Implementation Report released by the Budget Office of the Federation.
Despite missing the budget benchmark by a wide margin, spending during the quarter was slightly higher than the N7.64 trillion recorded in the same period in 2024, representing a year-on-year increase of 4.86 percent or N0.39 trillion.
The Federal Government also recorded a fiscal deficit of N0.33 trillion during the quarter, reflecting a situation where government spending exceeded revenue generated within the period.
The Budget Implementation Report, which tracks how actual government revenues and expenditures compare with approved budget projections, covers the period from July to September 2025 and offers a quarterly snapshot of fiscal performance across ministries, departments, and agencies.
The figures indicate that while public spending has grown modestly compared to the previous year, the government continues to fall significantly short of its own budget projections, raising questions about revenue performance and the pace of budget execution.
The prorated budget target represents the portion of the annual expenditure plan expected to be delivered within a given quarter. A shortfall of over 41 percent suggests that planned programmes and capital outlays may not be progressing at the pace envisaged in the approved budget.
Fiscal analysts have noted that persistent underspending against budget targets can affect the delivery of public services and infrastructure, particularly when shortfalls coincide with rising debt obligations and a widening fiscal deficit.
