Former Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Political Affairs, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has demanded an explanation for the purported ₦6.93 trillion padding into the 2025 budget.
BudgIT Nigeria, a non-governmental civic and transparency organization, claimed that the 10th National Assembly (NASS) included 11,122 projects totaling ₦6.93 trillion in the 2025 budget.
BudgIT found that 238 projects worth more than ₦5 billion each, totaling ₦2 trillion, were placed without explanation.
BudgIT found 984 projects worth ₦1.71 trillion and 1,119 projects ranging from ₦500 million to ₦1 billion, totaling ₦641.38 billion, were randomly placed.
According to a report issued on Tuesday, 3,573 projects worth ₦653.19 billion were allotted to federal constituencies and 1,972 projects worth ₦444.04 billion to senatorial districts.
In response to BudgIT’s study, Baba-Ahmed stated that the NASS and the Presidency must explain to Nigerians how trillions of dollars were introduced into the national budget.
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He also recommended the federal government to sue BudgIT if it alleges the latter’s report was false.
“NASS and the Presidency should sue BudgIT for reporting trillions of dollars added to the 2025 budget if their assertion is untrue. The alternative suggests recognizing the published findings as real. In any event, the government owes Nigerians an explanation,” he tweeted on his 𝕏 account on Thursday.
