BudgIT, a civic tech group advocating for transparency in public finance, revealed on Monday that the National Assembly added 11,122 projects valued at N6.93 trillion to the 2025 budget. The organisation described the discovery as deeply troubling, reigniting concerns over political interference and misuse of public funds. “We thoroughly examined the 2025 federal budget, and the findings are alarming,” BudgIT stated via its official X handle. According to DAILY POST, the National Assembly had approved a total budget of N54.99 trillion for 2025. The initial proposal of N49.7 trillion was later increased to N54.2 trillion following a request by President Bola Tinubu. In a follow-up statement on Tuesday, BudgIT criticized the National Assembly’s insertions, stating that they lacked proper justification. “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. “This trend, increasingly normalised, undermines the purpose of national budgeting, distorts development priorities, and redirects scarce resources into the hands of political elites.” BudgIT listed 238 projects each valued above N5 billion, totalling N2.29 trillion, and another 984 projects worth N1.71 trillion. It also flagged 1,119 projects within the range of N500 million to N1 billion, together worth over N641 billion, which it described as largely politically motivated and indiscriminate. BudgIT’s analysis further revealed that 3,573 of the inserted projects, amounting to N653.19 billion, were allocated to federal constituencies, while 1,972 projects worth N444.04 billion were assigned to senatorial districts. The breakdown also includes 1,477 streetlight projects estimated at N393.29 billion, 2,122 ICT-related projects costing N505.79 billion, and 538 borehole projects valued at N114.53 billion. Additionally, N6.74 billion was allocated for the “empowerment of traditional rulers.” BudgIT criticized the fact that 39 percent of all insertions—totaling 4,371 projects worth N1.72 trillion—were directed into the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget, inflating its capital allocation from N242.5 billion to a staggering N1.95 trillion. It noted that other ministries, including Budget and Economic Planning as well as Science and Technology, also had their budgets significantly inflated through similar insertions. BudgIT called on President Bola Tinubu to exercise strong executive leadership by overhauling the budget process. The group urged Tinubu to ensure the 2025 budget aligns with Nigeria’s Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021–2025), and appealed to the Attorney General of the Federation to seek a constitutional clarification on the National Assembly’s power to introduce capital projects without executive input.