NASS, BudgIT Disapproves Over N6.93trn Projects In Budget 2025

The National Assembly and a civic organisation, BudgIT, yesterday disagreed over the insertion of 11,122 projects worth N6.93 trillion into the 2025 budget.

BudgIT had alleged that the lawmakers padded the Appropriation Bill with the projects it described as not in alignment with the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021–2025) and other national priorities.

But both arms of the National Assembly, the Senate and the House of Representatives, reacted swiftly yesterday, dismissing allegations that they padded the budget.

They also reaffirmed their powers to amend the budget, as enshrined by the 1999 constitution.

However, BudgiT, which promotes and monitors public finance, said in a statement yesterday that by inserting the projects, which the executive did not envisage, legislators 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 238 projects valued above N5 billion each, with a cumulative value of N2.29 trillion, were inserted with little or no justification.

Similarly, 984 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.

These insertions, according to BudgiT, appeared 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 street light 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’.

‘N1.72trn projects tucked into Agric Ministry’s budget’

“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 such as 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 under-performance 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 street lights 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.”

Commenting on the findings, Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s Country Director, stressed the urgent need to restore integrity to Nigeria’s budgeting process, highlighting how unchecked project insertions by the National Assembly had derailed the purpose of national planning, weakened public trust and diverted resources away from critical development priorities.

Okeowo said: “The insertion of over 11,000 projects worth N6.93 trillion into the 2025 budget by the National Assembly is not just alarming, it is an assault on fiscal responsibility. This trend, increasingly normalised, undermines the purpose of national budgeting, distorts development priorities and redirects scarce resources into the hands of political elites.

‘’Nigeria cannot afford to run a government of projects without purpose. We urgently need transparency, constitutional clarity, and a return to evidence-based planning that puts citizens, not politics, at the centre of the budget.

“In light of the foregoing, we call on President Bola Ahmed 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 hope that the anti-corruption agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, will also take action to track these projects and ensure Nigeria gets value for money.