An examination of Nigeria’s proposed 2026 Appropriation Bill has revealed the insertion of at least ₦3.50 trillion worth of new projects by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), despite an explicit federal directive barring the introduction of fresh capital projects amid mounting fiscal pressures.
The findings come as controversy continues to swirl around alleged unauthorised alterations to newly passed tax legislation—fuelling broader concerns over governance, legislative oversight and adherence to fiscal rules.
Analysis of the budget documents shows that new project entries within MDAs alone amount to ₦844.49 billion. When allocations classified under Service Wide Votes are included, the total value of newly introduced projects rises sharply to ₦3.50 trillion—about 15.09 percent of the proposed ₦23.21 trillion capital budget for 2026.
The scale of the additions directly contradicts a December 2025 directive issued by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, which instructed MDAs to roll over at least 70 percent of their 2025 capital allocations into 2026. The Abridged Budget Call Circular warned agencies against proposing new projects, stressing that scarce resources should be used to complete ongoing ones and that all expenditures would be subjected to strict scrutiny for value for money.
Yet a detailed review of the Appropriation Bill indicates that at least 82 MDAs introduced one or more new capital or programme items. In total, more than 400 fresh project lines appear in the budget, ranging from multibillion-naira infrastructure and health initiatives to smaller constituency-style interventions such as boreholes, training programmes and equipment procurement.
Service Wide Votes account for the largest share of the new allocations, totalling ₦2.66 trillion across 18 newly introduced items. The single largest entry is ₦1.70 trillion earmarked for outstanding contractors’ liabilities from 2024, representing nearly half of all new project spending.
Other major allocations include three separate ₦100 billion provisions for the Nigeria Development Finance Corporation, the Economic Transformation Finance Programme and the Nigeria Growth Investment Fund. Additional entries include ₦20 billion for the capitalisation of INFRACO, ₦30 billion for a Department of State Services special operations fund, and ₦110.31 billion for the Nigerian Air Force to settle outstanding obligations on T-129 ATAK and Mi-35 helicopters.
The budget also allocates ₦283.85 billion for presidential air fleet logistics and management, including the operation of the National Forest Guard, alongside take-off grants for newly created MDAs amounting to ₦41.12 billion in recurrent spending and ₦19.50 billion in capital expenditure. Provisions were also made for pension increases and gratuity payments.
At the MDA level, the Budget Office of the Federation recorded the highest value of new projects, with ₦375 billion allocated for additional financing under the Power Sector Recovery Operation. This single item accounts for more than 44 percent of new MDA-level projects and over 10 percent of the total value of newly introduced spending.
The Federal Ministry of Transport followed with ₦210.53 billion in new projects, including consultancy services for major rail initiatives and the construction of transport terminals across the six geopolitical zones. Other notable allocations include ₦24 billion for nationwide renovation of the National Library of Nigeria, ₦15 billion for the National Blood Service Commission, and ₦9.14 billion for projects under the Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority.
Smaller but recurrent expenditure lines also feature prominently. At least ₦5.85 billion was earmarked for vehicle purchases, ₦2.93 billion for furnishing and office equipment, ₦29.88 billion for renovation and refurbishment, and ₦25.29 billion for residential and staff accommodation—much of it driven by defence and security agencies.
Analysts say the findings point to a persistent pattern of weak enforcement of budgetary rules. Similar restrictions were issued ahead of the 2025 and 2024 budgets, yet thousands of new projects were later discovered, many of them lacking clear mandates or readiness for execution.
Professor Adeola Adenikinju, President of the Nigerian Economic Society, has previously attributed such lapses partly to late budget presentations, which constrain the National Assembly’s ability to conduct detailed scrutiny. Development economist and CSA Advisory CEO, Dr. Aliyu Ilias, has gone further, describing the trend as evidence of poor fiscal discipline by both the executive and legislature.
According to him, the routine insertion of projects after the President’s budget presentation—often without adequate justification or consultation—has become entrenched. Past analyses by civil society groups such as BudgIT have flagged trillions of naira in questionable projects, including allocations to agencies lacking the legal mandate or capacity to execute them.
Critics warn that these practices, frequently financed through additional borrowing, risk widening Nigeria’s fiscal deficit, inflating the cost of governance and undermining public confidence in the budget as a credible tool for economic planning.
