A new report by BudgIT, a civil society organisation advocating for transparency and accountability in public finance, has uncovered that the National Assembly inserted 11,122 projects worth N6.93 trillion into Nigeria’s 2025 Federal Budget without executive approval.
The figure represents 12.61% of the ₦54.99 trillion budget signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, raising serious concerns about transparency and fiscal responsibility in the country’s budgeting process.
According to BudgIT’s analysis, 238 projects valued above N5 billion each were inserted with little or no justification, while 984 projects worth N1.71 trillion and 1,119 projects valued between N600 million and N1 billion were also smuggled into the budget.
In a statement on Tuesday, Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s Country Director, described the revelations as an assault on fiscal responsibility:
“The insertion of over 11,000 projects worth N6.93 trillion by the National Assembly is not just alarming — it’s an affront to responsible governance. This growing trend undermines national planning, distorts development priorities, and diverts scarce resources into the hands of political elites.”
He warned that Nigeria risks becoming a “government of projects without purpose”, calling for urgent reforms to restore transparency, constitutional order, and citizen-focused budgeting.
Key Findings:
- 3,573 projects worth N653.19 billion were allocated to federal constituencies.
- 1,972 projects worth N444.04 billion were assigned to senatorial districts.
- Anomalies include:
- 1,477 streetlight projects valued at N393.29 billion.
- 538 borehole projects totalling N114.53 billion.
- 2,122 ICT projects worth N505.79 billion.
- N6.74 billion for the “empowerment of traditional rulers.”
Misplaced Spending
The report also notes that 39% of all inserted projects — amounting to 4,371 projects valued at N1.72 trillion — were channeled into the Ministry of Agriculture, inflating its capital budget from N242.5 billion to N1.95 trillion.
Similarly, the Ministries of Science and Technology and Budget and Economic Planning saw significant unexplained budget increases to N994.98 billion and N1.1 trillion, respectively.
BudgIT cited cases of gross misuse of government agencies, including:
- The Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute.
- The Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, which was allocated:
- N3 billion for utility vehicles,
- N1.5 billion for rural electrification in Rivers State,
- N1 billion for solar streetlights in Enugu State — all outside its core mandate.
No Accountability Yet
Despite sending formal letters to the Presidency, Budget Office, and National Assembly under its “The Budget is a Mess” campaign, BudgIT says none of the institutions have acknowledged or responded to the findings.
The group criticised the Presidency’s silence and urged President Tinubu to assert stronger leadership in overhauling the budget process, aligning it with the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021–2025).
BudgIT is also calling on:
- The Attorney General to seek a constitutional interpretation of the National Assembly’s authority to insert projects without executive input.
- The EFCC and ICPC to launch investigations into the insertions.
- Citizens, the media, civil society, and development partners to demand accountability and a return to a budgeting process that truly serves the Nigerian people, not a privileged few.
