Fagbemi Urges Return to Old System of Capital Project Payments, Cites Delays Under Centralized Model

The Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, has criticized the current centralized payment system by the Ministry of Finance for capital projects executed by ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
Speaking during the 2026 budget defence of the Ministry of Justice before the Senate Committee on Judiciary in Abuja, Mr.

Fagbemi argued for a return to the previous system where funds are directly released to MDAs to execute projects.
He said, “The old system is better because you don’t need to know anybody before your allocation is released.” On the other hand, he noted that “the current centralized system of payment is plagued with so many difficulties, I don’t want to say complexities.”
Mr. Fagbemi revealed that, like other ministries, the Justice Ministry recorded zero performance on the capital component of its 2025 budget, as even the N869 million allocated was not cash-backed. The lack of execution across MDAs led President Bola Tinubu to approve the rollover of 70 percent of unspent 2025 capital funds into 2026.
Senator Adeniyi Adegbonmire, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, expressed concern over the delays in fund releases. He noted that several senators agree that the old system is preferable, emphasizing that delays in the justice sector, central to social cohesion, place unnecessary pressure on the system. “It is very important that we have an organization, a process that responds speedily to the demands of the justice sector,” he said.