BudgIT, a prominent civic-tech organization dedicated to promoting public finance transparency, has uncovered a staggering revelation about the 2025 federal budget, revealing widespread corruption within Nigeria’s National Assembly (NASS). According to BudgIT’s analysis, over 11,000 projects valued at N6.93 trillion were inserted into the budget by lawmakers, with little regard for national development priorities. The findings highlight a dangerous pattern of political manipulation, financial mismanagement, and a system that appears more focused on self-serving political elites than the country’s pressing needs.
Signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in February 2025, the federal budget of N54.99 trillion has now been marred by these excessive insertions, raising serious concerns about the NASS’s role in distorting fiscal responsibility and undermining the integrity of national planning. Instead of prioritizing the development of essential infrastructure and public services, the NASS’s actions reflect a culture of corruption, inefficiency, and self-aggrandizement, with the country’s future development hanging in the balance.
The organization’s report focuses particularly on 238 projects, each valued at over N5 billion, together totaling N2.29 trillion, as well as 984 other projects amounting to N1.71 trillion. BudgIT also flagged an additional 1,119 projects valued between N500 million and N1 billion, totaling N641 billion, as politically motivated and lacking any substantial development rationale. “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.
Okeowo added that this growing trend of budget insertions, once seen as rare exceptions, is now becoming normalized. The result is a distorted budget that no longer reflects the country’s true development priorities. “This trend undermines the purpose of national budgeting and redirects scarce resources into the hands of political elites,” he said, urging for immediate reforms to address the root cause of these insertions.
The analysis also highlighted troubling patterns in the geographical allocation of projects. For example, 3,573 of the inserted projects, worth N653.19 billion, were tied to federal constituencies, while 1,972 projects, valued at N444.04 billion, were allocated to senatorial districts. In total, the list includes various questionable initiatives, including 1,477 streetlight projects valued at N393.29 billion, 538 borehole projects worth N114.53 billion, and 2,122 ICT-related projects amounting to N505.79 billion. Of particular concern was the N6.74 billion earmarked for the “empowerment of traditional rulers,” which BudgIT believes lacks any clear developmental benefit.
One of the most troubling revelations was the disproportionate allocation of funds to the Ministry of Agriculture. According to BudgIT, 39 percent of all inserted projects — or 4,371 projects worth N1.72 trillion — were placed under this ministry’s budget. This inflated its capital allocation from a modest N242.5 billion to a whopping N1.95 trillion. Other ministries, such as Science and Technology, as well as Budget and Economic Planning, also experienced similar budgetary increases through these insertions.
What is even more concerning is the diversion of funds to smaller federal agencies, which have been used as conduits for projects outside their statutory mandates. BudgIT highlighted how agencies such as the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute in Lagos and the Federal Cooperative College in Oji River were saddled with funding for unrelated projects. These include N3 billion for utility vehicles, N1.5 billion for rural electrification in Rivers State, and N1 billion for solar streetlights in Enugu — all projects far removed from these agencies’ original mandates.
“These are examples of agencies operating outside their mandates, managing projects unrelated to their statutory functions, and adding zero value to national development,” BudgIT remarked in their statement.
The NASS’s actions have drawn intense criticism for perpetuating a culture of corruption and self-interest, further entrenching the divide between political elites and the citizens they are meant to serve. Lawmakers are widely accused of inserting these projects into the budget to secure political favor and build patronage networks, with no real concern for long-term national development. This behavior reflects the legislature’s failure to enact policies that would meaningfully address fiscal abuse and hold the executive accountable.
For decades, the National Assembly has been a hotbed of corruption, with funds frequently misappropriated for personal gain. The 2025 budget insertions are merely the latest example of how lawmakers exploit the system for self-aggrandizement. These projects, often introduced with no oversight or rational planning, divert crucial resources away from essential public services such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure.
The legislature’s failure to enact robust reforms further highlights its inability to fulfill its constitutional duties, which include holding the executive accountable and ensuring transparency in the allocation of public funds. Despite the growing calls for reform from civil society organizations like BudgIT, the National Assembly has failed to act decisively to address these issues, demonstrating an alarming lack of political will to tackle corruption and inefficiency.
Despite the overwhelming evidence presented by BudgIT, the organization claims it has received no response or indication of accountability from the Presidency, the National Assembly, or the Budget Office. In its statement, BudgIT expressed frustration at the silence from these government institutions, stating that such inaction amounts to complicity in the face of fiscal abuse.
BudgIT is now calling for urgent reforms to ensure the national budget aligns with Nigeria’s Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021–2025). The organization has urged President Tinubu to take executive leadership and act decisively in reforming the budget process. Additionally, BudgIT has called on the Attorney General of the Federation to seek a constitutional interpretation of the National Assembly’s appropriation powers, particularly in relation to introducing new capital projects without executive approval.
Furthermore, the civic-tech group has appealed to anti-corruption agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to investigate the inserted projects and track public funds to ensure transparency and accountability.
“We cannot afford to run a government of projects without purpose,” said Okeowo. “We urgently need transparency, constitutional clarity, and a return to evidence-based planning that puts citizens, not politics, at the centre of the budget.”
BudgIT has also called on civil society groups, the media, development partners, and Nigerian citizens to demand immediate reform. The organization stresses that the issue at hand goes beyond financial mismanagement; it is a matter of justice, equity, and accountable governance.
As Nigeria continues to face immense socio-economic challenges, the need for a transparent, effective, and development-oriented budget process has never been more critical. Without such reforms, the country risks entrenching political manipulation and fiscal irresponsibility that will further delay the realization of meaningful progress for its citizens.
Discussion about this post