BudgIT Insist on Budget Padding Claims Despite Senate Denial

Nigerian civic-tech organisation, BudgIT, has accused the country’s Senate of inflating the 2025 national budget by inserting over 11,000 questionable projects worth ₦6.93 trillion (\$4.8bn).

The group says the additions amount to more than 12% of the ₦54.99 trillion budget signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu earlier this year.

In its latest report, BudgIT raised concerns about a lack of transparency, claiming many of the projects appear to serve political rather than developmental purposes. The Ministry of Agriculture was identified as a major recipient of the padded allocations, with 39% of the additions directed to the ministry.

The projects flagged include ₦200 billion for 1,500 streetlight installations equating to about ₦133 million per unit and ₦150 billion for 2,000 boreholes, averaging ₦75 million each. ICT-related projects were also listed, totalling ₦180 billion for just 500 initiatives.

BudgIT has urged the federal government to introduce urgent reforms, saying the credibility of Nigeria’s budget process is at risk. It warned that the pattern of inflated allocations undermines public trust and weakens the effectiveness of national spending.

The Nigerian Senate has dismissed the report as misleading, but the findings have sparked fresh debate over accountability and governance in public finance.

The term “budget padding” entered Nigeria’s mainstream political discourse in 2016 when a former House of Representatives committee chairman accused House members of secretly inserting self-serving projects into the national budget.

While not explicitly illegal, the practice is widely seen as a form of corruption and despite multiple reform pledges, budget padding remains a persistent challenge in Nigeria’s fiscal landscape.