Fresh Trouble As Senate, Reps Accused Of Padding N6.9 Trillion In 2025 Budget
Published: August 6, 2025
ABUJA, Nigeria — Fresh controversy has erupted at the National Assembly as both the Senate and House of Representatives face serious allegations of budget padding amounting to a staggering ₦6.9 trillion in the 2025 national budget.
The accusations, which have sparked public outrage and renewed calls for fiscal transparency, suggest that lawmakers allegedly inserted thousands of unauthorized projects and allocations into the national budget — most of which were not presented by the executive arm of government.
According to multiple reports, the padding involves:
- Over 7,000 projects allegedly inserted without due consultation or approval by relevant ministries.
- Irregular allocations running into hundreds of billions of naira to phantom projects, duplicated items, and constituency schemes with unclear implementation mechanisms.
- Alleged diversion of funds originally meant for capital projects into poorly defined or untraceable programs.
Insiders claim the insertions were carried out during the budget harmonization phase between the Senate and House committees on appropriation — a stage often criticized for lack of transparency and oversight.
Several civil society organizations and watchdog groups have condemned the alleged budget manipulation, describing it as an abuse of legislative privilege and a betrayal of public trust.
BudgIT Nigeria, a leading civic-tech organization tracking government spending, described the figures as “deeply troubling,” urging relevant anti-graft agencies to investigate all insertions made after the budget was passed by the National Assembly.
“This level of budget padding, if proven, is criminal and must not be swept under the carpet,” said Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s CEO. “It undermines national development and erodes confidence in the budgeting
Officials within the Federal Ministry of Finance have also distanced the executive arm from the alleged insertions, noting that the final version of the budget signed into law bore significant differences from the proposal originally submitted by President Bola Tinubu in late 2024.
Sources say the President is “deeply concerned” about the situation and has directed relevant agencies to audit the 2025 budget line by line.
In a brief response, Senate Spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu dismissed the allegations as baseless and politically motivated.
“The National Assembly followed due process in the appropriation process. These accusations are coming from those who do not understand how budgeting works. There was no padding,” Adaramodu stated.
Meanwhile, House of Representatives Committee Chairman on Appropriation, Hon. Abubakar Bichi, said all projects in the budget were “duly vetted and aligned with national development priorities.”
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) are reportedly reviewing petitions submitted by advocacy groups and may soon invite key members of the National Assembly for questioning.
Legal experts have stressed that if proven, budget padding constitutes a gross violation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (2007) and other related laws, and could attract prosecution and jail time for those found guilty.
This is not the first time Nigeria’s legislature has been accused of budget padding. However, the alleged scale of the 2025 case — ₦6.9 trillion out of a ₦28.7 trillion budget — marks the largest ever alleged manipulation in Nigeria’s democratic history.
Political analysts and anti-corruption campaigners are now calling for:
- A complete audit of the 2025 Appropriation Act.
- Constitutional reforms to limit the powers of lawmakers over direct project insertions.
- Greater transparency during budget defense and harmonization stages.
As the nation grapples with inflation, mounting debt, and economic uncertainty, the alleged budget padding scandal threatens to erode public trust in democratic institutions and undermine efforts to promote accountability in governance.
While investigations are still ongoing, Nigerians and the international community will be watching closely to see if the allegations are pursued to a logical and just conclusion
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