Federal Lawmakers have expressed concerns over the non-release of funds to government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) by the Ministry of Finance.

Members of the Senate Committee on Power at a budget defence session on Tuesday condemned the failure of the Ministry of Finance to release funds to government agencies, describing it as a regular occurrence.

A lawmaker, who spoke to Channels Television on condition of anonymity, said the Senate analysed the 2015 budget proposal of the Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies behind closed doors.

The source said lawmakers were concerned about the failure of the Ministry of Finance to release funds for capital projects to the MDAs.

The Senate was also alarmed that the country was experiencing a recession caused by dwindling oil price and may not be able to finance its budget.

In addition, the source said entitlements of lawmakers for 2015 would be cut, as the budget of the National Assembly had been slashed.

The matter of the 2015 budget was again brought up when the Minister of Power and Heads of government agencies in the power sector, came to defend their budget before the Senate Committee on Power.

It was an avenue for the committee members to speak on their growing frustration over the failure of the Finance Ministry to release funds for projects.

Another lawmaker also expressed worries that the Federal Government was not taking seriously, the issue of diversifying the economy.

For the next few weeks, various Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies would be defending their budgets in the Senate.

But it is not clear at this time, if the Senate would pass the 2015 budget before the general elections, as lawmakers are said to be less than impressed with the allocation for capital projects in the 2015 budget.