A new report by BudgIT has reignited concerns over transparency, fiscal discipline and accountability in Nigeria’s budgets, raising more difficult questions for the administration of President Bola Tinubu, over corruption and lack of transparency.
This is as the President Tinubu administration is currently facing fresh corruption allegations, over the reported recruitment of about 300 personnel into the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, in August 2025, despite subsequently denying that the Council exists.
According to the BudgIT report, the National Assembly inserted 11,122 projects worth N6.9 trillion, into the 2025 Appropriation Act. If substantiated, the scale of the insertions raises serious corruption concerns, fuels fears of budget manipulation and threatens national development priorities.
While the National Assembly has the Constitutional powers to amend Appropriation Bills, its Leadership has been accused of maintaining an “unholy” alliance with the Presidency, allegedly crippling its oversight role and eroding its Constitutional duty to provide effective checks and balances.
In the report, BudgIT called on President Tinubu to exercise stronger Executive leadership; this reflects the expectation that the Presidency should ensure the nation’s budgets remain aligned with Nigeria’s medium and long-term development objectives.
Over time, President Tinubu has faced persistent accusations of incompetence and ineffective leadership, with Critics blaming his administration for recurring controversies, governance failures and policies they say have deepened the hardship endured by millions of Nigerians
This controversy also highlights the need for greater transparency throughout the budget process.
Nigerians deserve to know how projects are selected, who benefits from them and how they contribute to measurable development outcomes.
Public confidence in governance depends not only on the passage of budgets, but also on the integrity of the process that produces them.
