Raphael Johnson
A prominent civic tech organisation promoting transparency and accountability in Nigeria, BudgIT, has accused members of the National Assembly of padding the 2025 budget with no fewer than 11, 122 projects valued at N6.93 trillion,
The organisation, which promotes and monitors public finance, said in a statement made available to newsmen on Tuesday that by inserting the projects, which the executive did not envisage, members of the NASS have taken what began as isolated irregularities over the years, to a deeply entrenched culture of exploitation and abuse, with the budget process now turned into a playground for self-serving political interests, led by top-ranking members of the national legislature.
BudgIT said that 238 projects valued above N5 billion each, with a cumulative value of N2.29 trillion, were inserted with little to no justification. According to the organization, nine hundred and eighty-four projects worth N1.71 trillion and 1,119 projects within the range of N500 million to N1 billion, totaling N641.38 billion, were indiscriminately inserted, raising questions about their relevance and alignment with national priorities.
It stated that these insertions, far from promoting development, appear tailored to satisfy narrow political interests and personal gains rather than the citizens’ interests.
Giving further details of how the padding was done, BudgIT stated, “A closer look shows that 3,573 projects worth N653.19 billion are assigned directly to federal constituencies and 1,972 projects worth N444.04 billion to senatorial districts. Categorically, some of the most 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”.
“Shockingly, 39% of all insertions—4,371 projects worth 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 bloated allocations of N994.98 billion and N1.1 trillion, respectively, from insertions alone.
“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: 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 are examples of agencies operating outside their mandates, managing projects unrelated to their statutory functions, and adding zero value to national development.
“Despite these findings, the Presidency has remained conspicuously silent. Recall that in the third and fourth quarters of 2024, BudgIT launched the “The Budget is a Mess” campaign to bring these issues to light. We submitted formal letters outlining our findings to the Presidency, the Budget Office, and the National Assembly. While these letters were acknowledged, no response was received from any of the institutions, and not a single institution has taken responsibility for the anomalies.
Even more concerning is the silence from the Presidency—silence which, in the face of overwhelming evidence, amounts to complicity,” the organization added.
