CSO queries funding questionable allocations in 2025 budget with loans

Nigeria can save at least N27.21 billion from the allocation for the State House Headquarters alone in the proposed 2025 budget, Citizens Wealth Platform (CWP), a platform of non-governmental and faith-based organisations, has said.

The group in a report that pinpoints what it terms frivolous, inappropriate, unclear and wasteful estimates in the appropriation bill, said under the current economic condition, wastage should be the last thing expected of the government.

According to the report signed by the Lead Director of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Eze Onyekpere, the government affords waste in a budget over N13 trillion deficit.

“The reasonable expectation is that every available resource in the 2025 federal budget proposal should be targeted at concrete deliverables aimed at reducing poverty, creating jobs, improving infrastructure and stimulating economic growth,” the report said.

It argued that the budget contains an alarming number of frivolous, inappropriate, unclear and wasteful expenditures, even when much of the expenditure would be funded with borrowed money.

“The State House and Presidency vote is suffused with bloated routine maintenance, renovation and repair work, purchase of vehicles in the billions of naira.

“These are not priorities for spending borrowed money. Service-wide votes continue the tradition of lump sum votes for vaguely described expenditure items, which at the end of the year, cannot guarantee value for money,” it noted.

Delving into details, the group queried the allocation of N63.98 billion as residential rent, asking the government to disclose details of the tenants and landlords.

Other questionable allocations, the group said, include the N6.04 billion allocated for annual routine maintenance of mechanical/electrical installations, building/civil and environmental services in the State House, presidential/ministerial lounges and chalets at the presidential wing of the airport; N5.49 billion for the annual maintenance of the Presidential Villa Abuja and N1.83 billion for the acquisition, renovation and rehabilitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) forfeited properties to be used as State House Headquarters in Abuja.

Others are N1.83 billion for the construction of an office complex for special advisers (SAs) and senior special advisers (SSAs), N549.8 million for the provision of accommodation and co-located guest houses/furnishing for presidential close aides/guests at the special development layout and N3.66 billion for the purchase of the State House operational vehicles.

There is also N1.19 billion provision for the replacement of SUV vehicles, N127.86 million for procurement of operational vehicles at the Presidential Conference Car Unit (CCU) Fleet Abuja and N127.86 million for the procurement of SUVs for the President and Vice President.

The group also flayed the provision of N11.92 billion for Julius Berger liabilities and other maintenance liabilities owed from 2022 to date.

“These are outrageous sums to spend on annual rituals that are provided for every year. Who has verified this perpetual debt purportedly owed to Julius Berger? Money is approved every year for works and maintenance at the State House. Where is this debt coming from?” it queried.

It urged the National Assembly to critically scrutinise the budget proposal before passage as “Nigeria can save over N954.58 billion, which can be put into other critical areas.