BudgIT Uncovers N6.93tn in Questionable Projects Inserted into 2025 Budget, Flags Deepening Budget Abuse by Lawmakers

The Nigeria Civic Technologies Group budget, has accused legislators of padding the 2025 budget with more than 11,000 suspicious projects worth 6.93 Billions of Nairas – a figure that could have reduced the country’s record deficit by almost 50% if it were properly reassured.

In a detailed report published on Tuesday, Budgit said what started years ago when the isolated budgetary irregularities have now transformed into a “rooted culture of exploitation and abuse” in the National Assembly.

According to the group, 11,122 projects were inserted in the 2025 credits bill, which President Bola Tinubu signed on February 28. The expenditure plan, totaling 54.99 Billions of N, includes a planned deficit of 14.54 billion Nairas. If the N6.93 Billions would have been padded in the budget had been deleted or redirected to critical development projects, the gap would have been considerably reduced.

The new budgetary plan almost doubles the size of the budget of 27.5 Billions of Nairas last year, a leap of 99.96%, and was criticized for having lacked transparency and realism in an aggravation of the economic crisis.

N2,29 Billions for 238 mega “unjustified” projects

The budget analysis shows that 238 projects, each valued at more than 5 billion Nairas, were inserted in the 2025 budget with what the group described as “little or no justification”. The total cost of these items alone is 2.29 Billions from Nairas.

984 other projects worth 1.71 Billion de Nairas and 1,119 projects between 500 million nairas and 1 billion nairas, totaling 641.38 billion nairas, were also reported as arbitrary insertions. The organization has said that these additions raise serious concerns about their relevance for national priorities.

Far from promoting development, Budgit said: “These insertions seem tailor -made to satisfy close political interests and personal gains.”

He said that more than 3,500 projects, worth around 653.19 billion Nairas, were channeled in federal districts, while 1,972 projects valued at 444.04 billion Nairas were allocated to senatorial districts.

Among the most discordant examples:

• 1,477 street lighting projects costing 393.29 billion nairas
• 538 drilling projects valued at 114.53 billion nairas
• 2,122 ICT projects worth 505.79 billion nairas
• N6.74 billion nairas reserved for “the empowerment of traditional leaders”
• The budget of the Ministry of Agriculture swelled nearly 8x

One of the greatest victims of these manipulations is the Ministry of Agriculture, whose capital allowance increased from 242.5 billion Nairas to 1.95 Billion de Nairas after being forced to absorb 4,371 projects worth 1.72 Billion de Nairas.

Likewise, the Ministries of Science and Technology and Budget and Economic Planning saw their budgets swollen by 994.98 billion and 1.1 Billion of Nairas, not for real development programs, but to adapt to insertions.

Budgit also highlighted the way in which institutions without technical mandate or ability to carry out infrastructure projects have been transformed into project warehouses for politically influenced contracts.

“Even more worrying is the abusive use targeted by agencies such as the Nigerian Institute of Construction and Research on the Road (Lagos) and the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, as a landfill for projects with political motivation.

“These agencies do not have the technical capacity to carry out such projects, leading to underperformance and creeping waste,” said Budgit.

The Cooperative College, for example, has been awarded:

• 3 billion nairas for utility vehicles for farmers
• 1.5 billion nairas for rural electrification in rivers
• 1 billion nairas for solar energy lampposts in the state of Enugu

“These are examples of agencies operating outside their mandates, the management of projects unrelated to their legal functions and the addition of zero value to national development,” said the group.

Strong silence of the presidency

Despite the magnitude of the results, Budgit said that the presidency remained “visibly silent”. Several letters and requests sent to executive and keys institutions have been ignored.

Budgit urges the president Tinubu to demonstrate stronger executive leadership and to initiate urgent reforms which realign the budgetary process with the National Development Plan (2021-2025). He also hopes that the Attorney General requests an interpretation of the Supreme Court of the extent of the powers of credits of the National Assembly, in particular his ability to insert projects without the approval of the executive.

“We hope that the EFCC and the ICPC will follow these projects to ensure that Nigeria will obtain a value for money,” said the group, calling for civil society, the media and citizens to demand a reform. “It is not only a financial management. It is a question of justice, equity and the future of responsible governance. ”

Alarming but not surprising

Although the figures are alarming, they are not surprising. This is in line with the history of the Nigeria long and disturbing corruption, which is remarkable beyond budget manipulation. In other areas, holders of public functions have been surprised in the process of diverting designated funds for national development projects.

For example, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development announced on Tuesday that it had officially received housing of 753 EFCC units, which recovered the active from Godwin Emefiele, the former besieged governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The Domaine, located in Abuja, was delivered during an official ceremony at the Ministry’s headquarters in Mabushi. According to the ministry spokesman, Salisu Haïba, the Minister of Housing, Ahmed Dangiwa, praised the anti-Greffe agency for his efforts in the recovery of the assets.

Experts said that the succession recovered, if reproduced in the 36 states, could considerably mitigate the serious deficit in Nigeria housing. In 2023, the country was estimated at least 28 million dwellings to meet demand, according to Intelpoint data.

This figure far exceeds the previous projection of the World Bank in 2021, which predicted that the Nigeria housing deficit would reach 20 million by 2030. This forecast was exceeded seven years ahead of the calendar, highlighting the extent of the crisis and the failure of the administrations prior to implement adequate political responses.

The defenders of the anti-Greffe claim that the resumption of the succession of Emefiele, although symbolically important, underlines the missed opportunities of the years of looted public resources.