Senate decries poor releases as Women Affairs ministry

From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Ireti Kingibe, has criticised what she described as abysmal fund releases by the Ministry of Finance, urging the executive to address the issue urgently.

Kingibe made the remarks on Monday at the National Assembly when the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, appeared before the committee to defend her ministry’s budget proposal.

While responding to the minister’s request for an upward review of the 2026 budget allocation, Kingibe said the committee was not opposed to increasing the ministry’s funding. However, she stressed that the persistent problem of poor fund releases must first be resolved.

“We are not against upward review of what is earmarked for your ministry in 2026, but the problem of abysmal releases of funds as reflected in the presentations just made by you on the 2025 budget appropriation and releases for your ministry is a serious concern to us. That problem must be addressed first,” she stated.

Earlier, Sulaiman-Ibrahim had informed the committee that the ministry’s proposed ₦134.2 billion budget for the 2026 fiscal year was inadequate to meet its mandate. She argued that increased funding would strengthen programmes aimed at tackling the multifaceted challenges facing women nationwide.

“In line with the plan and the need for more domestic allocations in the 2026 fiscal year, upward review of budget estimates for the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development should be done,” the minister said.

Presenting the performance report for the 2025 budget, she disclosed that out of the ₦89.8 billion appropriated for capital expenditure, only ₦394 million was released in December, which was not utilised.

She further revealed that overhead releases were similarly low, with only ₦471 million disbursed out of the ₦2.8 billion appropriated for the year.

For the 2026 fiscal year, the ministry has been allocated ₦134.2 billion, comprising ₦2.1 billion for personnel costs, ₦131.2 billion for capital expenditure and ₦810.9 million for overhead expenses.