The scrutiny of Nigeria’s 2024 budget has intensified following allegations by Senator Abdul Ningi of shady dealings in its preparation and passage. Despite the suspension of the senator by the Senate, the budget has faced increased attention, revealing concerning activities in the ₦28.7 trillion budget signed by President Bola Tinubu in January 2024.
BudgIT, an organization focused on budget reforms, found that National Assembly members inserted thousands of additional projects into the initial budget proposal of ₦27.5 trillion submitted by the president in November 2023. These projects exceeded the allocated ₦100 billion for constituency projects.
These extra projects were included in the budgets of 326 ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), many of which lack the mandate or technical capacity to implement and monitor them.
BudgIT highlighted that 1,777 projects worth ₦218.6 billion were designated for delivery in federal constituencies, while 1,308 projects valued at ₦176 billion were allocated to senatorial districts.
Some of the most notable insertions in Nigeria’s 2024 budget include:
- 1,150 street lights for ₦212 billion, amounting to ₦184 million per street light installation project.
- 427 boreholes for ₦82.5 billion, equivalent to ₦193 million per borehole installation project.
- 170 ICT projects for ₦30.95 billion, averaging ₦182 million per ICT project.
- Construction/renovation of 58 community town halls for ₦11.32 billion, resulting in ₦195 million per project.
Additionally, significant amounts were allocated to projects such as the empowerment of traditional rulers (₦7.62 billion), education-related initiatives (₦186.78 billion), health-related projects (₦89.63 billion), road construction/rehabilitation (₦460.16 billion), and the purchase of security vehicles (₦2.04 billion).
I just Dey see billion billion
And we go Dey say money no Dey Nigeria 🇳🇬
I just hope they do all they intend to do
Na wa o for this our beloved country….all this billions we are not seeing any economic development and stability..
Truth be told, money dey naija, na good leadership we no get.
Hmmmn so we are so rich like this in this country and it’s still difficult for an average man to feed.
May God help us
Huhmm may God help us for this country
So this kind of money dey for this country. And the projects the money is being allocated to, we are not even seeing any improvement and development..