Civic tech organisation, BudgIT Nigeria, has revealed what it describes as a widespread and deliberate effort by the National Assembly to include thousands of questionable projects worth a total of N6.93 trillion in the 2025 national budget.
The group made this known on Tuesday via its official X (formerly Twitter) account, where it released a detailed breakdown of budgetary allocations it claims were inserted without valid justification. According to the organisation, a total of 11,122 projects were added by the legislature, describing the move as a deeply-rooted form of budget abuse.
“BudgIT, a prominent civic tech organisation promoting transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s public finance, has uncovered 11,122 projects valued at N6.93tn inserted by the National Assembly into the 2025 Federal Government budget. What began as isolated irregularities has, over the years, evolved into a deeply entrenched culture of exploitation and abuse, with the budget process now a playground for self-serving political interests, led by top-ranking members of the National Assembly,” the group stated.
President Bola Tinubu originally proposed a budget of N49.74tn in December 2024. After further adjustments, the National Assembly increased the figure to N54.99tn before the president signed it into law in February 2025. This increase represents an additional N5.29tn from the original figure.
BudgIT explained that of the questionable entries, 238 projects cost more than N5bn each, totaling N2.29tn, with minimal or no explanations provided. An additional 984 projects were listed at N1.71tn, while 1,119 projects ranged between N500m and N1bn, amounting to N641.38bn.
A significant portion—39%—of these insertions were reportedly forced into the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget, causing its capital budget to surge from N242.5bn to N1.95tn. The Ministry of Science and Technology also saw its allocation increase from N994.98bn to N1.1tn due to similar insertions.
“Our analysis reveals that 238 projects valued above N5bn each, with a cumulative value of N2.29tn, were inserted with little to no justification. 984 projects worth N1.71tn and 1,119 projects within the range of N500m to N1bn, totaling N641.38bn, were indiscriminately inserted,” the report reads.
The report also pointed to specific agencies allegedly used for political projects, such as the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (Lagos) and the Federal Cooperative College in Oji River. BudgIT stated that these institutions lacked the resources or technical ability to carry out such large-scale projects, leading to poor results and wasted funds.
It further noted anomalies such as 1,477 streetlight projects worth N393.29bn, 538 boreholes estimated at N114.53bn, and 2,122 ICT initiatives valued at N505.79bn. An additional N6.74bn was set aside for the “empowerment of traditional rulers.”
The group urged President Tinubu to take stronger control of the budgeting process and ensure it aligns with the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021–2025). It also called on the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, to clarify the constitutional limits of the National Assembly in making such changes to the budget.
BudgIT encouraged Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies, including the EFCC and ICPC, to track the suspicious projects and ensure public funds are not misused.
