FG seeks to share electricity subsidy burden with state governments

Tuesday, February 3, 2026 - The Federal Government has moved to end the practice of carrying electricity subsidy costs alone, announcing a framework that will spread the burden across federal, state, and local governments from 2026.

The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during a training and sensitisation workshop for ministries, departments, and agencies on the 2026 post-budget preparation process using the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System Budget Preparation Sub-System.

Yakubu said President Bola Tinubu had directed that electricity subsidy costs be made explicit, tracked, and fairly shared across tiers of government, warning that the current approach creates hidden liabilities and recurring crises in the power market.

“If we want a stable power sector, we must pay for the choices we make,” he said. “When tariffs are held below cost, a gap is created. That gap is a subsidy. And a subsidy is a bill.”

He added that from 2026, the Federal Government would no longer treat electricity subsidies as an open-ended obligation borne solely by the centre, especially where policy decisions and political benefits are shared.

“In 2026, we will stop pretending that this bill can be left to the Federal Government alone, especially where the policy choice or the political benefit is shared across tiers of government,” Yakubu said.

According to him, the President has instructed that the existing electricity sector legal framework be invoked to ensure that subsidy sharing is practical, transparent, and enforceable.

“This means subsidy costs must be explicit, tracked, and funded, so they do not return as arrears, liquidity crises, or hidden liabilities in the market,” he said. “If any tier of government chooses affordability interventions, the funding responsibilities must be clear, agreed, and enforceable.”

Yakubu stressed that the policy was not designed as a sanction but as a mechanism to align incentives across government and support efficiency in the power sector.

“This is not punishment. It is alignment,” he said. “When everyone carries a fair share of the cost, everyone also has an incentive to support cost-reflective efficiency, targeted protection for the vulnerable, and a power market that can actually deliver.”

He told MDAs to reflect subsidy-related costs clearly in their 2026 budget submissions and avoid pushing unfunded liabilities into the electricity market.

Beyond power subsidies, Yakubu said the 2026 Budget marked a clear break from rollover budgeting and fragmented project lists, which he said had weakened execution and accountability over the years.

“The 2026 Budget corrects this. It is built as one coherent implementation framework,” he said. “The approach is to consolidate commitments into a single, visible pipeline and manage them as a disciplined programme of delivery.”

He described this approach as a “single-train” framework, adding that it would improve prioritisation, strengthen control, and reduce duplication across government. “One plan. One pipeline. One execution logic,” he said. “It allows the government to know, at any point, what we have committed to deliver.”

Yakubu also revealed that the President had directed a review of the Fiscal Responsibility framework to make fiscal rules more dynamic and enforceable, rather than abandoning them.

“Fiscal rules are the guardrails of the government,” he said. “Without guardrails, spending becomes impulsive, debt becomes casual, and the budget becomes a statement of intent rather than a tool of delivery.”

He explained that the review would introduce clearer fiscal anchors, better-defined escape clauses for genuine shocks, and a credible path back to compliance, alongside stronger reporting on contingent liabilities.

For MDAs, he said this would change how proposals are assessed. “You will not only be asked what you want to spend. You will be asked how it fits the fiscal rules, how it affects sustainability, and what measurable results it will deliver,” he said.

The Budget Office chief further announced that the 2026 Budget would deepen the shift from long project lists to project financing, insisting that capital proposals must be delivery-ready and, where appropriate, finance-ready.

“A long list of projects is not a development strategy,” Yakubu said. “What citizens feel is delivery, completed roads, reliable power, functional schools, working hospitals.”

He said projects submitted for funding in 2026 must demonstrate readiness, sequencing, a clear financing strategy, and measurable outputs and timelines, adding that fewer but better-funded projects would deliver more impact.

Yakubu described GIFMIS-BPS as central to restoring budget credibility, saying it was “the operating system for credible budgeting” that improves transparency and traceability from submission to execution.

“The success of the Renewed Hope Agenda is shared,” he said. “The Budget Office will coordinate and enforce standards. But delivery depends on every MDA. Nigerians expect results. And through a credible 2026 Budget, we must deliver.”

The workshop aims to align MDAs with new budget expectations, improve compliance, and strengthen the link between planning, financing, and results in the 2026 fiscal year.