By Abiola Olawale
BudgIT, a frontline civic-tech organization with a focus on public finance scrutiny, has raised concerns over an alleged insertion of 11,122 projects worth N6.93 trillion into Nigeria’s 2025 Federal Government Budget by the National Assembly.
The organization’s analysis released on Tuesday, labels these additions as “unjustified,” escalating widespread concerns.
A breakdown of BudgIT’s review of the 2025 budget showed the entity’s insistence that it uncovered a total of 11,122 projects, valued at N6.93 trillion allegedly added by the National Assembly, with little to no justification provided.
This was said to include 238 high-value projects (each exceeding N5 billion) totalling N2.29 trillion and 984 projects worth N1.71 trillion.
BudgIT also alleged that about 39% of the insertions—4,371 projects worth N1.72 trillion—were allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture, inflating its capital budget from N242.5 billion to N1.95 trillion.
Also, of the purported inserted projects, 3,573 worth N653.19 billion are designated for federal constituencies, while 1,972 projects valued at N444.04 billion are tied to senatorial districts.
BudgIT expressed what it called disapproval of these insertions, describing them as a sign of fiscal abuse and political manipulation.
The organization highlighted that such practices undermine Nigeria’s economic stability.
Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s country director, in his reaction, stated: “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.
“This trend, increasingly normalised, undermines the purpose of national budgeting, distorts development priorities, and redirects scarce resources into the hands of political elites.”
He pleaded with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to demonstrate executive leadership by reforming the budget process.
Additionally, he urged 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.
The New Diplomat reports that this comes after the National Assembly 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 Tinubu requested the increase.
