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….Opposition Coalition Slams National Assembly for Turning National Budget into “Personal ATM,” Calls for Urgent Reforms to Restore Accountability

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has sounded a stark warning over the integrity of Nigeria’s 2025 federal budget, condemning what it describes as an unprecedented and dangerous case of budget padding by the National Assembly.

In a strongly worded statement signed by Chief Peter Ameh, CUPP’s National Secretary, the coalition raised alarm over the insertion of 11,122 unauthorized projects amounting to N6.93 trillion—12.61% of the total N54.99 trillion budget—without proper justification or alignment with national priorities.

“This budget padding scandal is not just fiscal irresponsibility—it is a brazen affront to the Nigerian people,” said Chief Ameh. “The 2025 budget, which should have been a vehicle for economic restoration, has been hijacked and turned into a personal ATM for the political elite.”

The projects, exposed by BudgIT, a civil society group dedicated to fiscal transparency, include thousands of inflated or misaligned items such as the N3 billion allocation for utility vehicles at the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, and billions more in unrelated projects like rural electrification and streetlight installations. These, the CUPP argued, do not reflect the institutions’ core mandates or address pressing national needs.

“The sheer scale is staggering,” said Chief Ameh. “The Ministry of Agriculture alone saw its capital allocation jump from N242.5 billion to N1.95 trillion, with 4,371 projects worth N1.72 trillion inserted—none of which can be reasonably justified.”

According to CUPP, this practice not only fuels corruption but also diverts critical funding from essential services. While the health and education sectors remain underfunded at N2.48 trillion and N3.52 trillion respectively, lawmakers secured N344.85 billion for constituency projects in 2025—up from N197.93 billion in 2024. Meanwhile, social welfare received a comparatively small N723.68 billion, despite a rising cost-of-living crisis and food inflation surging to 21.26% in April 2025.

“This is the weaponization of the budget against the poor and vulnerable,” Chief Ameh stated. “Nigerians are hungry, unemployed, and struggling to survive. Yet the National Assembly has prioritized self-interest and political patronage over national development.”

CUPP highlighted that this pattern of abuse is systemic and entrenched. The 2024 budget had already raised eyebrows with N4.41 trillion allocated to opaque “service-wide votes,” including N108 billion labeled for “special projects”—a designation the coalition says is ripe for abuse. The 2025 budget has continued this trend, with hundreds of billions earmarked for questionable ICT and streetlight projects.

The coalition also criticized the silence from both the Presidency and the Budget Office in the face of BudgIT’s findings, calling it a failure of leadership and accountability.

“This silence speaks volumes,” said Chief Ameh. “Our institutions are complicit, or at the very least, negligent. Nigeria has been a member of the Open Government Partnership since 2016, yet we continue to witness opaque practices and entrenched corruption in our budgeting process.”

Calling for urgent reforms, the CUPP proposed a multi-pronged response: the National Assembly must establish clear, transparent guidelines for constituency projects with mandatory public consultation; an independent body should be given oversight to prevent political interference; and anti-corruption agencies like the ICPC and EFCC must be empowered to investigate and prosecute budget-related fraud without political constraints.

Furthermore, Chief Ameh emphasized the need for digital transparency tools and open data platforms that allow citizens to monitor budget implementation in real time.

“The National Assembly must recommit to its constitutional role. It must pass laws to promote evidence-based budgeting and prioritize sectors critical to Nigeria’s future—such as infrastructure and agriculture—which have been crippled by insecurity and underfunding,” he urged.

CUPP’s statement is a clarion call to action. With Nigeria’s public debt at N97.34 trillion and a 2025 budget deficit of N13.8 trillion, continued fiscal indiscipline poses a direct threat to economic stability and public trust.

“The time for action is now,” concluded Chief Ameh. “Nigerians deserve a government that upholds the public interest, not one that enriches a few at the expense of many. If we fail to confront this budget scandal head-on, we risk pushing our nation further into debt, despair, and disillusionment.”

The Coalition reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, democratic accountability, and the pursuit of justice for all Nigerians.

StreetReporters.ng

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