BudgIT Nigeria, a non-governmental civic and transparency organization, has claimed that 11,122 projects totaling ₦6.93 trillion were added to the 2025 budget by the 10th National Assembly (NASS).
According to BudgIT’s investigation, 238 projects totaling more than N5 billion each, totaling N2.29 trillion, were added with little to no explanation.
According to BudgIT, 984 projects totaling ₦1.71 trillion and 1,119 projects ranging from ₦500 million to ₦1 billion, or ₦641.38 billion, were indiscriminately introduced, according to Naija News.
A closer examination revealed that 1,972 projects totaling ₦444.04 billion were allocated to senatorial districts while 3,573 projects totaling ₦653.19 billion were directly assigned to federal constituencies, according to the report released on Tuesday.
1,477 streetlight projects valued at ₦393.29 billion, 538 boreholes totaling ₦114.53 billion, 2,122 ICT projects valued at ₦505.79 billion, and ₦6.74 billion designated for the “empowerment of traditional rulers” are some of the most obvious discrepancies, the statement stated.
According to the report, the Ministry of Agriculture’s capital allocation increased from ₦242.5 billion to ₦1.95 trillion, with 4,371 projects totaling ₦1.72 trillion, or 39% of all insertions, being pushed into the budget.
From insertions alone, the Ministries of Budget and Economic Planning and Science and Technology also received inflated allocations of 1.1 trillion and 994.98 billion, respectively.
Even more concerning is the targeted 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, leading to rampant underperformance and waste.
“For example, the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River—a training institution—was saddled with: ₦3 billion for utility vehicles to support farmers and distribution agents, ₦1.5 billion for rural electrification in Rivers State, ₦1 billion for solar streetlights in Enugu,” it stated.
BudgIT called on President Bola Tinubu to exercise stronger executive leadership and reform the budgeting process to ensure alignment with the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021–2025) and other national priorities.
“We urge the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to seek a constitutional interpretation from the Supreme Court regarding the extent of the National Assembly’s appropriation powers, particularly its authority to unilaterally introduce new capital projects without Executive concurrence.
We expect that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), two anti-corruption organizations, will also take steps to monitor these projects and make sure Nigeria receives value for its money.
Additionally, we urge the development community, civil society organizations, the media, and the general public to speak out and demand reform. This is a problem of justice, equity, and the future of accountable governance in Nigeria, not just financial mismanagement,” it continued. Source=Naija news
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