BudgIT has called on the National Assembly to use its powers to proactively address irregularities contained in the 2025 proposed national budget to ensure that the approved budget would reflect the needs and preferences of Nigerians.
The organisation listed the needs as job creation, poverty reduction and inclusive broad-based economic growth.
BudgIT made this call on Thursday in its public statement that was signed by its Communications Associate, Ms. Nancy Odimegwu, in which it said that the irregularities identified in the proposed budget included non-budgetary provision for the funding of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road.
Other irregularities identified in the proposed budget were non-inclusion of budget breakdown of some MDAs, commissions, and councils, as well as the absence of the budgets of over 60 government-owned enterprises (GOEs).
These, it said, included the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), among others, which it said were conspicuously absent from the 2025 proposed budget.
BudgIT said: “We have observed that the 2025 proposed budget breakdown submitted to the National Assembly for review and approval and published on the Budget Office website omits the breakdown of some MDAs, commissions, and councils, such as the National Judicial Council (N341.63 billion), and TETFUND (N940.5 billion).
“The budgets of over 60 government-owned enterprises (GOEs), including the Nigeria Ports Authority, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), etc., were conspicuously absent from the 2025 Proposed Budget.
“Furthermore, a combined N2.49 trillion has been allocated to five regional development commissions (Niger Delta: N776.53 billion; South West: N498.40 billion; North East: N290.99 billion; North West: N585.93 billion; and South East: N341.27 billion) under the umbrella of personnel costs.
“This approach obscures the true nature of these commissions’ operational expenses. Lumping development commission budgets under personnel costs raises concerns about transparency and accountability.
“It hinders proper scrutiny of how these funds are utilised and whether they effectively achieve their intended development objectives.”
It further observed the fact that the 2025 budget notably omits funding for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, a capital-intensive infrastructure project.
“This omission implies that if funding for this project materialises, it will likely necessitate reallocating funds from other critical projects, potentially hindering their implementation and impacting the budget’s credibility,” it said.
Besides, the organisation expressed the view that the recent pronouncements of President Bola Tinubu’s regarding the retirement package of military generals contradicted his previous commitments to reducing the cost of governance and welfare packages to top-ranked public officials and civil servants.
“Such provisions not only inflate the budget and widen the fiscal deficit but may also demoralise lower-ranking military personnel, who lack adequate health insurance and retirement benefits despite their higher exposure to combat risks,” BudgIT said.
BudgIT also urged the National Assembly to resist the temptation to increase the oil price benchmark in order to create fiscal space for the insertions of their budget sub-heads.
It recalled that it had in previous years identified several budgetary insertions made by the National Assembly that deviated from the federal government’s constitutional mandate and priorities and are assigned to MDAs that have neither the capacity nor the mandate to implement the inserted projects.
It said: “In 2021, BudgIT observed that 5,601 capital projects were added to the Appropriation Bill during the review process by the National Assembly.
“In 2022, it increased to 6,462 projects across 37 Mother Ministries and 340 MDAs, while in 2024, 7,447 insertions amounting to a staggering N2.24 trillion were found in the budget.”
BudgIT noted that whereas the Constitution granted the National Assembly the authority to appropriate funds, the federal legislatures often modified the executive’s proposed budget by distorting its original intent and disconnecting it from the nation’s long-term development agenda.
It said: “Many inserted projects usually lack proper conceptualisation, design, and cost estimation, undermining their effectiveness and feasibility.
“We believe that the legislature must exercise this power with the utmost responsibility.”
It, therefore, appealed to the 409 members of the National Assembly to prioritise national interest over personal or parochial considerations and ensure that the approved budget would stimulate economic activities and macroeconomic stability.
Dike Onwuamaeze
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