BudgIT, a civic-tech organization leading the transparency and accountability advocacy in Nigeria’s public finance, has called on Nigerians and the International community to prevail on the National Assembly and Presidency to urgently eliminate loopholes in the 2022 Approved Budget.
A statement by the organization also noted that preliminary analysis of the 21,108 capital projects in the 2022 budget revealed 460 duplicated projects amounting to N378.9billion which is a repetition of the observed 316 duplicated projects inserted into the 2021 Budget approved by the National Assembly.
It added that the ICPC verified 257 duplications while the Budget Office confirmed the existence of only 185 duplicated projects worth N20.13bn, after which it informed the public that funds were not released for the projects in 2021.
BudgIT also identified inflated projects amounting to billions of naira directly linked to the State House and the Presidency, notably the N20.8billion requested by the Presidency to construct a 14-bed presidential wing at the existing State House Medical Center, N28.72million requested for the purchase of 2units of 10KG washing machine and 6units of LG Televisions in the State House Lagos Liaison Office, among others.
The organization also detected projects approved under MDAs that do not have the capacity to execute nor have the mandate to do them.
BudgIT’s Country Director, GABRIEL OKEOWO, explained that “The loopholes for fraud in the 2022 FG budget is a crime against the 86million Nigerians living below the poverty line, aninjustice to hardworking taxpayers and an open mockery of Nigeria and lending institutions that intend to give loans worth N6.29trillion to Nigeria in 2022.
Editor: Anoyoyo Ogiagboviogie
