From Victor Osula, Abuja
Civic tech organisation BudgIT has accused the National Assembly of unilaterally inserting approximately 11,122 projects valued at N6.93 trillion into the 2025 budget, alleging these additions serve narrow political interests and personal gains.
In a statement released on Tuesday, BudgIT expressed concern over the Presidency’s silence, describing it as complicity amid mounting evidence of budget padding.
President Bola Tinubu signed the 2025 Appropriation Bill of N54.99 trillion into law on February 28.
The National Assembly had earlier, on February 13, approved the budget, increasing the initial proposal of N49.7 trillion by about N7 billion.
According to BudgIT, “238 projects valued above N5 billion each, with a cumulative worth of N2.29 trillion, were inserted with little to no justification.
Additionally, 984 projects worth N1.71 trillion and 1,119 projects ranging from N500 million to N1 billion, totaling N641.38 billion, were indiscriminately added, raising serious questions about their relevance and alignment with national priorities.”
The organisation further highlighted that “3,573 projects valued at N653.19 billion were directly assigned to federal constituencies, while 1,972 projects worth N444.04 billion were allocated to senatorial districts.
Some glaring anomalies include 1,477 streetlight projects worth N393.29 billion; 538 boreholes totalling N114.53 billion; 2,122 ICT projects valued at N505.79 billion; and N6.74 billion earmarked for ‘empowerment of traditional rulers.’”
BudgIT noted that “39 per cent of all insertions—4,371 projects valued at N1.72 trillion—were forced into the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget, inflating its capital allocation from N242.5 billion to N1.95 trillion.
The Ministries of Science and Technology and Budget and Economic Planning also saw inflated allocations of N994.98 billion and N1.1 trillion, respectively, from these insertions alone.”
Of particular concern, BudgIT accused the misuse of agencies like the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (Lagos) and the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, as dumping grounds for politically motivated projects.
These agencies lack the technical capacity to execute such projects, resulting in underperformance and waste.
For example, the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River—a training institution—was burdened with: N3 billion for utility vehicles to support farmers and distribution agents; N1.5 billion for rural electrification in Rivers State; and N1 billion for solar streetlights in Enugu State.
These allocations represent projects unrelated to the agencies’ statutory functions and add no real value to national development.
Despite these findings, the Presidency has remained silent. BudgIT recalled that in the third and fourth quarters of 2024, it launched the “The Budget is a Mess” campaign to highlight these issues.
Formal letters detailing their findings were sent to the Presidency, the Budget Office, and the National Assembly. While the letters were acknowledged, no institution has responded or taken responsibility for the anomalies.
Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s Country Director, emphasised the urgent need to restore integrity to Nigeria’s budgeting process.
