The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has raised fresh red flags over Nigeria’s budget process, saying an ICPC analysis identified 4,508 projects worth about N434.5bn as inserted or padded in the 2022 Appropriation Act.
CISLAC said the figures underscored the urgent need for a transparent audit trail showing how major projects move from the Executive’s budget proposal to the final Appropriation Act.
The organisation made the disclosure on Monday at the 2026 Senate Press Corps Workshop in Abuja, where it challenged lawmakers, budget officials and journalists to subject significant budget changes to closer scrutiny.
The paper was presented by Ebu Emmanuel on behalf of CISLAC Executive Director, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani.
According to the organisation, the ICPC analysis covered 6,690 projects across 66 government agencies, with 4,508 projects valued at approximately N434.5bn flagged as inserted or padded.
The analysis also identified 66 duplicated projects worth about N6.43bn, CISLAC said.
CISLAC, however, warned against treating the ICPC findings as proof of criminal conduct by individuals.
Rather, it said the figures should trigger questions about how projects are introduced into the budget, who authorised the changes, whether the projects are justified and how their implementation can subsequently be tracked.
The organisation stressed that its concern was not with the constitutional power of the National Assembly to scrutinise and amend the Executive’s budget proposal.
The issue, it said, was whether substantial amendments are justified, transparent and traceable from the original proposal through legislative consideration to the final Appropriation Act.
CISLAC called for every major budget provision to have a clearly stated public purpose, credible costing, project location, identified beneficiaries, responsible implementing agency and measurable expected results.
It also urged lawmakers to establish whether proposed projects fall within the mandate of the ministry, department or agency expected to execute them and to screen out duplicate provisions before approval.
The organisation demanded a legislative audit trail that clearly answers three basic questions: What was proposed? What changed? Why did it change?
It said the audit trail should also make it possible to identify who justified the change and which agency is responsible for delivering the project.
CISLAC argued that such a system would move the national debate away from the politically charged phrase “budget padding” and towards measurable questions of legality, transparency, value for money and accountability.
CISLAC also challenged journalists to stop at neither the presentation nor passage of the annual budget.
It urged the media to compare the Executive’s original proposal with the final Appropriation Act, identify significant additions and removals, investigate vague project descriptions and verify the locations and intended beneficiaries of projects.
Journalists, it said, should go further by tracking approved projects after appropriation to establish whether funds were released, how they were spent and whether the projects were actually delivered.
CISLAC stressed that media reports must distinguish between verified facts, institutional findings, allegations and proven wrongdoing.
It called for stronger cooperation among the National Assembly, National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, Budget Office, Bureau of Public Procurement, ICPC, EFCC, Auditor-General, civil society organisations and the media.
The organisation proposed a nine-stage accountability chain:
“Propose, Justify, Verify, Approve, Disclose, Implement, Monitor, Audit and Account.”
CISLAC said every major budget provision should be capable of surviving scrutiny at each stage.
It ended with a direct message to lawmakers and other stakeholders:
“Verify before appropriation. Disclose during the process. Monitor after approval. Account for every naira.”