Budget Padding: Nigeria’s Transparency And Accountability Challenge

The revelation that ₦6.9 trillion was allocated for constituency projects in Nigeria’s 2025 budget has reignited concerns about transparency and accountability in public finance. BudgIT, a civic tech organization dedicated to promoting fiscal openness, uncovered over 11,000 projects inserted into the budget, many without justification, some far outside the mandates of the agencies tasked with executing them, and most shrouded in secrecy.

While the report initially sparked outrage among well-meaning Nigerians and stakeholders, months later, public attention has waned, leaving citizens uncertain about the next steps. The questions remain: how did we get here, who truly benefits, and how can this entrenched practice be dismantled?

At its core, budget padding undermines fiscal responsibility and distorts national development priorities. Public institutions risk becoming “project warehouses” for political patronage, leading to inefficiency, waste, and a cycle of incomplete or abandoned initiatives.