NASS Inserted 11,122 Projects Worth ₦6.93trn In 2025 Budget – BudgIT

BudgIT Nigeria, a non-governmental civic and transparency organisation, has alleged that the 10th National Assembly (NASS) inserted 11,122 projects worth ₦6.93 trillion in the 2025 budget.

BudgIT said analysis showed that 238 projects valued above ₦5 billion each, with a cumulative value of N2.29 trillion, were inserted with little to no justification.

According to BudgIT, 984 projects worth ₦1.71 trillion and 1,119 projects within the range of ₦500 million to ₦1 billion, totaling ₦641.38 billion, were indiscriminately inserted.

The report published on Tuesday stated that a closer look showed that 3,573 projects worth ₦653.19 billion were assigned directly to federal constituencies and 1,972 projects worth ₦444.04 billion to senatorial districts.

“Some of the most glaring anomalies include: 1,477 streetlight projects worth ₦393.29 billion, 538 boreholes totalling ₦114.53 billion, 2,122 ICT projects valued at ₦505.79 billion and ₦6.74 billion earmarked for ’empowerment of traditional rulers‘,” it read.

The report noted that 39% of all insertions, 4,371 projects worth ₦1.72 trillion, were forced into the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget, inflating its capital allocation from ₦242.5 billion to ₦1.95 trillion.

The Ministries of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning also saw bloated allocations of ₦994.98 billion and ₦1.1 trillion, respectively, from insertions alone.

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“Even more concerning is the targeted misuse of agencies like the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (Lagos) and the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, as dumping grounds for politically motivated projects.

“These agencies lack the technical capacity to execute such projects, leading to rampant underperformance and waste.

“For example, the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River—a training institution—was saddled with: ₦3 billion for utility vehicles to support farmers and distribution agents, ₦1.5 billion for rural electrification in Rivers State, ₦1 billion for solar streetlights in Enugu,” it stated.

BudgIT called on President Bola Tinubu to exercise stronger executive leadership and reform the budgeting process to ensure alignment with the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021–2025) and other national priorities.

“We urge the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to seek a constitutional interpretation from the Supreme Court regarding the extent of the National Assembly’s appropriation powers, particularly its authority to unilaterally introduce new capital projects without Executive concurrence.

“We hope that the anti-corruption agencies, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), will also take action to track these projects and ensure Nigeria gets value for money.

“We also call on citizens, the media, civil society organisations, and the development community to speak out and demand reform. This is not merely about financial mismanagement – it is a matter of justice, equity, and the future of accountable governance in Nigeria,” it added.