Transparency watchdog BudgIT has accused the National Assembly of inserting over 11,000 projects worth ₦6.93 trillion into Nigeria’s 2025 federal budget—12.61% of the total ₦54.99 trillion budget signed by President Bola Tinubu.
In a report released Tuesday, the group called the insertions “indiscriminate,” raising concerns about their alignment with national priorities. “Categorically, some of the most glaring anomalies include 1,477 streetlight projects, worth ₦393.29 billion, 538 boreholes totalling ₦114.53 billion, 2,122 ICT projects valued at ₦505.79 billion and ₦6.74 billion earmarked for empowerment of traditional rulers,” the statement read.
BudgIT noted that 238 projects valued over ₦5 billion were added with little justification, along with hundreds more ranging from ₦600 million to over ₦1 billion.
The Ministry of Agriculture saw the most significant impact, receiving 39% of all insertions. “Shockingly, 39% of all insertions—worth ₦1.72 trillion—were forced into the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget, inflating its capital allocation from ₦242.5 billion to ₦1.95 trillion,” BudgIT stated.
The report also highlighted how lawmakers continue to route projects through agencies with no mandate or capacity to deliver them. The Federal College of Fisheries, for instance, spent nearly ₦1 billion in 2024 on vehicles and tricycles for communities outside its jurisdiction.
“These agencies lack the technical capacity to execute such projects, leading to rampant underperformance and waste,” the group warned, citing similar misuse involving the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute and the Federal Cooperative College in Oji River.
“These budgets are not mere cases of financial mismanagement but are closely related to justice, equity and the future of accountable governance in the country.”
BudgIT urged President Tinubu to reform the budget process and called on the public to demand greater accountability. “We also call on citizens, the media, civil society organizations, and the development community to speak out and demand reforms.”
The group previously revealed that ₦624 billion was allocated in 2024 to over 2,500 projects outside the implementing agencies’ mandates—an issue it says continues unchecked.
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