According to the proposal, a significant portion of the N1.481 trillion will be allocated to key sectors: N324 billion to infrastructure, N166 billion to healthcare, N75.6 billion to education, and N31.4 billion to agriculture.
President Bola Tinubu has submitted a N1.48trillion budget proposal for Rivers State to the National Assembly, citing the nullification of the state's 2025 budget by the Supreme Court and the imposition of "emergency rule" as critical reasons for the federal intervention.
In his letter to the National Assembly, President Tinubu explained that the proposed budget was a necessary step to maintain governance and public service delivery in Rivers State, given the legal and political disruptions affecting the region.
According to the proposal, a significant portion of the N1.481 trillion will be allocated to key sectors: N324 billion to infrastructure, N166 billion to healthcare, N75.6 billion to education, and N31.4 billion to agriculture.
The move comes amid intensifying scrutiny of Nigeria's 2025 national budget, following the release of a damning report by BudgIT, a civic-tech organisation advocating for budget transparency and accountability.
BudgIT revealed that the National Assembly inserted 11,122 questionable projects worth N6.93 trillion into the 2025 national budget, signed into law by President Tinubu in February.
BudgIT's 18-page report uncovers widespread irregularities in the N54.99 trillion 2025 budget, highlighting a lack of transparency, oversight, and adherence to national development priorities. The inserted projects -- constituting 12.5% of the total budget -- were reportedly added without adequate justification or alignment with the core mandates of implementing agencies.
The report specifies that 238 of the inserted projects exceed N5 billion each, collectively valued at N2.29 trillion. Additionally, 984 projects worth N1.71 trillion and 1,119 projects within the N500 million to N1 billion range (totalling N641.38 billion) were identified as insertions.
BudgIT also exposed 3,573 projects worth N653.19 billion that were assigned directly to federal constituencies, and 1,972 projects amounting to N444.04 billion allocated to senatorial districts. Among the controversial items were 1,477 streetlight installations costing N393.29 billion, 538 borehole projects worth N114.53 billion, and 2,122 ICT-related initiatives valued at N505.79 billion. A further N6.74 billion was allocated for the "empowerment of traditional rulers."
One of the most concerning revelations was the unprecedented inflation of the Ministry of Agriculture's capital budget. BudgIT disclosed that 39% of all insertions -- 4,371 projects valued at N1.72 trillion -- were routed through the ministry, artificially inflating its capital allocation from N242.5 billion to N1.95 trillion. Similar manipulation was observed in other ministries, with the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning having their capital votes inflated to N994.98 billion and N1.1 trillion respectively.
The organisation flagged several instances of ministries and agencies being assigned projects outside their statutory mandates. For example, the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation in Ilorin was allocated N400 million for scholarships and grants in Bayelsa West Senatorial District, and another N350 million for a health insurance scheme in the same area. Likewise, the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute in Lagos and the Federal Co-operative College in Oji River were assigned similar out-of-scope projects.
These revelations come just months after President Tinubu initially presented a proposed N49.7 trillion "Budget of Restoration: Securing Peace, Rebuilding Prosperity" to a joint session of the National Assembly in December 2024.
In February 2025, he requested an upward revision to N54.2 trillion due to additional revenue inflows from agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (N1.4 trillion), Nigeria Customs Service (N1.2 trillion), and others (N1.8 trillion). The National Assembly subsequently passed a revised budget of N54.99 trillion on February 13, adding another N700 billion to the President's adjusted figure.
BudgIT's findings have sparked nationwide debates about the integrity of Nigeria's budgetary process and the extent to which it is influenced by political patronage. The organization warned that without immediate reforms, Nigeria risks institutionalizing a budgeting system that prioritizes personal and political interests over developmental goals.
"Although unofficial claims suggest that senators and members of the House of Representatives receive N1 billion and N2 billion respectively for constituency projects, our analysis reveals that actual allocations are often significantly higher," BudgIT stated.
The civic-tech group urged President Tinubu to assert stronger executive leadership and initiate reforms to ensure alignment between national spending and Nigeria's medium- and long-term development strategies. These reforms, they argue, should include a transparent and accountable framework for including constituency projects, independent verification of project costs, and standardized tracking mechanisms.
With the Rivers State emergency budget now under review and questions swirling around the national budget's credibility, stakeholders are calling for immediate legislative and executive interventions.
"This is not just about Rivers State or streetlights," said a policy analyst at the Centre for Fiscal Reform in Abuja. "It's about the future of Nigeria's public finance system. If we don't fix the process now, we risk losing even more to inefficiency and corruption."
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