A civic-tech organisation advocating for transparency and accountability in Nigeria, BudgIT, has expressed concerns over alleged omissions, irregularities, and non-breakdown of the 2025 budget for some government ministries, departments, agencies, and parastatals.
In a statement released on Thursday and signed by its communications associate, Nancy Odimegwu, the organisation listed the National Judicial Council and TETFUND as organisations without budgetary provisions.
The organisation also observed the non-disclosure of budgets for key government-owned enterprises, including the Nigeria Ports Authority and the Nigerian Customs Service, among others.
The statement partly read: “We have observed that the 2025 FG proposed budget submitted to the national assembly for review and approval and published on the Budget Office website omits funding for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road as well as the budget breakdown of some MDAs, commissions, and councils, such as the National Judicial Council [N341.63 billion] and TETFUND [N940.5 billion].”
“The 2025 Proposed Budget also excluded the budgets of over 60 government-owned enterprises [GOEs], including the Nigeria Ports Authority, Nigeria Customs Service, and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA.”
The statement noted that the review of the previous Federal Government budget has revealed that the government often falls way off the mark in its macroeconomic assumptions, which pose serious fiscal risks leading to severe budget financing challenges.
The organisation also expressed concern over the reviewed retirement package for retired service chiefs and other top military officers.
“It is worth noting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent pronouncement regarding the retirement package of military generals, which includes the provision of a bulletproof SUV, fully paid foreign medical treatment, $20,000 as estacode for medical trips, and payments for domestic help, contradicts his previous commitments to reduce 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.”
The organisation therefore urged the National Assembly to review the budget efficiently for the sake of national interest and not personal interest.
“As the national assembly reviews the 2025 Proposed Budget, we appeal to the 360 Honourable Members of the House of Representatives and 109 Distinguished Senators of the Nigerian Senate to prioritise national interest over personal or parochial considerations” he added.
