Politician and former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has criticised the Federal Government over an allegation of N7 trillion budget fraud recently reported by BudgIT.
The civic-tech organisation promoting budget transparency and accountability in Nigeria and other African countries said Tuesday that it uncovered 11,122 projects worth N6.93 trillion that were inserted by the National Assembly into the 2025 national budget.
The figure, according to an 18-page report released by the organisation on Tuesday, represents 12.5% of the N54.99 trillion budget signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on February 28.
A detailed analysis of the BudgIT report revealed that 238 projects—each valued above N5 billion and totalling N2.29 trillion—were inserted into the budget with little or no justification.
“Also, 984 projects worth N1.71 trillion and 1,119 projects within the range of N500 million to N1 billion, totalling N641.38 billion, were indiscriminately inserted into the budget,” the report stated.
Reacting to the report, Obi said he was deeply troubled, describing Nigeria as a “relentless scene of corruption”.
“Nigeria remains a relentless scene of corruption. I have consistently maintained that for this country to make progress, Nigeria must cease to function as a crime scene and be repositioned for genuine development.
“This entrenched corruption – persistent and deeply rooted – must be nipped in the bud if there is to be any meaningful turnaround. How else can we explain the distressing revelations by BudgIT, which uncovered a staggering ₦7 trillion in questionable projects inserted into the 2025 national budget? I am convinced that this figure represents only a fraction of the actual amount misappropriated.
“These findings are deeply troubling and confirm my long-held position that we have turned our country into a crime scene. We must urgently and aggressively combat corruption, misappropriation, and fiscal recklessness in order to manage our resources effectively and efficiently, and invest in critical areas of development: health, education, and lifting our people out of poverty.
“The ₦7 trillion uncovered as fraudulently inserted into the 2025 budget is even greater than the combined allocations to the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and the Ministry of Agriculture – ministries that are fundamental to national development.”
The politician listed each ministry’s 2025 federal allocation, noting that the total allocations were still less than the alleged inserted N7tn.
“To be precise: •The Ministry of Education was allocated ₦3.52 trillion, •The Ministry of Health received ₦2.48 trillion, •The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation was allocated ₦260 billion, and •The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security received ₦636.08 billion. Combined, these four ministries were allocated ₦6.896 trillion—an already inflated amount—yet still less than the ₦7 trillion dubiously inserted into the budget.
“That ₦7 trillion figure is even more than the ₦6.1 trillion allocated to national security—at a time when Nigeria is among the most terrorised nations in the world.”
Describing the move as “brazen impunity” on the part of political leaders, Obi asked why the federal government would not instead invest in critical sectors such as Education, healthcare, and agriculture.
“This brazen impunity by our leaders is precisely why the country cannot invest adequately in education—hence the existence of nearly 20 million out-of-school children. It is the same corruption that has crippled primary healthcare, resulting in alarming levels of malnourished children. We face widespread hunger, yet our leaders neglect agricultural investment due to persistent mismanagement and lack of accountability.
“The same disregard affects our capacity to fund national security effectively, or to support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which are vital to national growth. These glaring acts of corruption reinforce my position: Nigeria has been reduced to a crime scene. We must confront this corruption, misappropriation, and fiscal recklessness with unwavering resolve. Our national resources must be transparently managed and strategically invested in key sectors—health, education, and poverty alleviation—to secure a better future for our people. We must turn this nation around,” he said.
