Civic watchdog BudgIT has accused Nigeria’s National Assembly of inserting 11,122 projects worth N6.93 trillion into the 2025 national budget, claiming the insertions were politically motivated and misaligned with the country’s Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021–2025).
BudgIT’s Key Allegations:
- 238 mega projects over N5 billion each (N2.29 trillion total) were inserted with little justification.
- Thousands of streetlight, borehole, ICT, and “empowerment” projects worth hundreds of billions were deemed redundant or misaligned.
- A staggering 39% of all insertions (N1.72 trillion) were pushed into the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget, inflating its capital allocation from N242.5 billion to nearly N2 trillion.
- Projects were allegedly dumped into under-capacitated agencies, such as the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute and the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, which were tasked with executing unrelated or excessive projects.
- BudgIT claims the Presidency has remained silent despite its letters, warning that silence “amounts to complicity.”
BudgIT’s Country Director, Gabriel Okeowo, described the insertions as an “assault on fiscal responsibility,” calling for:
Broader citizen and civil society engagement.
Stronger executive action from President Tinubu,
Constitutional interpretation of appropriation powers by the Supreme Court,
Investigation by anti-corruption agencies, and
Broader citizen and civil society engagement.
National Assembly Responds:
Both the Senate and House of Representatives dismissed the padding claims, asserting that the legislature has constitutional authority to amend and expand the budget.
- Senator Yemi Adaramodu (APC, Ekiti South) called the claims “spurious,” labeling critics as peddlers of “falsehood and public discord.”
- Rep. Clement Jimbo, Deputy Chair of the House Committee on National Planning, said the budget is not a final document until reviewed and passed by the legislature. He stressed: “The executive sends an estimate; the National Assembly has the power to add or subtract to reflect the aspirations of Nigerians.”
- Jimbo denied allegations of individual lawmakers hijacking funds and said over 200 committees scrutinized agency submissions in a transparent budget defense process.
- He described BudgIT’s claims as “ignorant, misleading, and irresponsible.”
The Core Issue:
At the heart of the clash is a constitutional and governance debate over the scope of legislative power in altering budget proposals from the executive—and whether such alterations now serve citizens or political elites. BudgIT is calling for legal clarification, anti-graft scrutiny, and public outcry. The National Assembly insists it acted within its rights and responsibilities. The Presidency’s continued silence may determine the direction of this growing national debate.
