BudgIT Nigeria, a non-governmental civic and transparency organization, claims that the 10th National Assembly (NASS) included 11,122 projects costing ₦6.93 trillion in its 2025 budget.
BudgIT found that 238 projects worth more than ₦5 billion each, totaling N2.29 trillion, were placed with no rationale.
BudgIT identified 984 projects worth ₦1.71 trillion and 1,119 projects ranging from ₦500 million to ₦1 billion, totaling ₦641.38 billion.
According to a report issued on Tuesday, 3,573 projects worth ₦653.19 billion were allotted to federal constituencies and 1,972 projects worth ₦444.04 billion to senatorial districts.
“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 stated.
According to the study, 4,371 projects worth ₦1.72 trillion were squeezed into the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget, resulting in a capital allocation of ₦1.95 trillion from ₦242.5 billion.
The Ministries of Science and Technology and Budget and Economic Planning received inflated appropriations of ₦994.98 billion and ₦1.1 trillion, respectively, through insertions.
“Even more alarming is the purposeful use of entities such as the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (Lagos) and the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, as dump sites for politically motivated projects.
“These agencies lack the technical capacity to carry out such projects, resulting in widespread 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,” the statement reads.
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BudgIT urged President Bola Tinubu to strengthen executive leadership and restructure 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 the authority to introduce new capital projects without Executive concurrence.”
“We hope that the anti-corruption agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), will also take action to track these projects and ensure Nigeria receives value for money.”
“We also urge individuals, the media, civil society organisations, and the development community to speak up and demand reform. This is more than just financial malfeasance; it is about justice, equity, and Nigeria’s future of accountable governance,” it added.
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