BudgIT on Monday said its findings revealed that the National Assembly inserted 11,122 projects worth N6.93 trillion into the 2025 budget.
BudgIT, a civic tech organization focused on public finance transparency, said the development has once again raised serious concerns about political manipulation and fiscal abuse.
“We have combed through the 2025 FG Budget, and you will be shocked at what we found,” BudgIT posted on X.
DAILY POST reported that the National Assembly had passed a budget of N54.99 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year.
The budget, initially N49.7 trillion, was raised to N54.2 trillion by the National Assembly after President Bola Tinubu applied for the increase.
In a statement released by BudgIT on Tuesday, the organisation lamented that the insertions made by the National Assembly in the budget were not justified.
“The insertion of over 11,000 projects worth N6.93 trillion into the 2025 budget by the National Assembly is not just alarming, it is an assault on fiscal responsibility,” said Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s country director.
“This trend, increasingly normalised, undermines the purpose of national budgeting, distorts development priorities, and redirects scarce resources into the hands of political elites.”
BudgIT listed 238 projects each valued above N5 billion, totalling N2.29 trillion, and another 984 projects worth N1.71 trillion. It also flagged 1,119 projects within the range of N500 million to N1 billion, together worth over N641 billion, which it described as largely politically motivated and indiscriminate.
Further highlighted in the analysis by BudgIT include 3,573 of the inserted projects, worth N653.19 billion, which are designated for federal constituencies, while 1,972 projects, valued at N444.04 billion, are tied to senatorial districts.
The list also includes 1,477 streetlight projects worth N393.29 billion, 2,122 ICT-related projects totalling N505.79 billion, and 538 borehole projects at N114.53 billion. Also, N6.74 billion was earmarked for the “empowerment of traditional rulers”.
BudgIT expressed displeasure that 39 percent of all insertions, 4,371 projects valued at N1.72 trillion, were pushed into the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget, thus inflating its capital allocation from N242.5 billion to N1.95 trillion.
Other ministries such as Budget and Economic Planning, and Science and Technology also witnessed inflated budgets through insertions alone.
BudgIT urged Tinubu to demonstrate executive leadership by reforming the budget process.
The organisation said that Tinubu should ensure that the budget is aligned with Nigeria’s Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021–2025).
It also asked the Attorney General of the Federation to seek a constitutional interpretation of the National Assembly’s appropriation powers, particularly its ability to introduce new capital projects without executive concurrence.
