Civic tech organization BudgIT Nigeria has revealed that the National Assembly inserted 11,122 projects worth N6.93 trillion into the 2025 federal budget, describing the practice as a “deeply entrenched culture of exploitation and abuse.”
The findings were published in a statement on the organization’s official X handle on Tuesday.
The report stated: “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 revelation follows President Bola Tinubu’s presentation of a N49.74 trillion 2025 Appropriation Bill in December 2024 – an 80.96 per cent increase from the 2024 budget. After legislative adjustments, the budget was signed into law on February 28, 2025, at N54.99 trillion, reflecting a cumulative increase of N5.29 trillion from Tinubu’s initial proposal.
BudgIT’s analysis uncovered alarming irregularities, including 238 projects worth over N5 billion each (totaling N2.29 trillion) inserted with little justification. Another 984 projects valued at N1.71 trillion and 1,119 projects between N500 million and N1 billion (N641.38 billion) were added indiscriminately.
The report showed 4,371 projects (N1.72 trillion) forcibly inserted into the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget, inflating its capital allocation from N242.5 billion to N1.95 trillion. Additionally, 3,573 projects (N653.19 billion) were assigned directly to federal constituencies while 1,972 projects (N444.04 billion) went to senatorial districts.
Questionable allocations included N393.29 billion for 1,477 streetlight projects, N114.53 billion for 538 boreholes, N505.79 billion for 2,122 ICT projects, and N6.74 billion for “empowerment of traditional rulers.”
BudgIT raised concerns about agencies like the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute and Federal Cooperative College Oji River being used as “dumping grounds for politically motivated projects,” despite lacking execution capacity.
The organization called for urgent reforms, urging President Tinubu to strengthen executive oversight, Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi to seek judicial clarity on legislative appropriation powers, and anti-graft agencies to track inserted projects for accountability.