A civil society group, the Global Coalition for Security and Democracy in Nigeria (GCSDN), has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately arrest, investigate, and publicly parade members of the National Assembly accused of padding Nigeria’s 2025 budget with over N6.93 trillion worth of questionable projects.
The demand follows a damning report by civic tech organisation BudgIT, which revealed that lawmakers inserted 11,122 projects into the 2025 federal budget without clear justification or alignment with national development goals. BudgIT described these insertions as a deeply entrenched culture of exploitation and abuse, with the budget process turned into a playground for self-serving political interests led by top-ranking members of the legislature.
In a statement signed by GCSDN’s Global Coordinator, Comrade Frederick Odorige, the group likened the implicated lawmakers to “Yahoo Yahoo politicians” destroying Nigeria from within corridors of power. Odorige said, “These are not lawmakers. They are looters in suits. Nigeria cannot develop when those entrusted with making laws are busy stealing our future through fraudulent budget padding.”
BudgIT’s report detailed that among the inserted projects were 238 valued above N5 billion each, totaling N2.29 trillion, alongside hundreds of other projects worth billions of naira, many with little or no justification or developmental value. The organisation called on President Bola Tinubu to exercise stronger executive leadership and urged the Attorney-General to seek constitutional clarification on the National Assembly’s appropriation powers, particularly its authority to introduce new capital projects without executive approval.
While the National Assembly has defended its constitutional right to amend the budget, the revelations have sparked widespread outrage and calls for accountability to restore integrity to Nigeria’s budgeting process. The GCSDN insists that urgent action is needed to stop this systemic legislative fraud and safeguard public resources.
