The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has raised fresh concerns over Nigeria’s budget process, revealing that an ICPC analysis flagged 4,508 projects worth about N434.5bn as inserted or padded in the 2022 budget.
CISLAC said the figures exposed the need for stronger scrutiny of budget proposals and legislative amendments before they become part of the nation’s Appropriation Act.
The organisation made the disclosure on Monday at the 2026 Senate Press Corps Workshop in Abuja, where it presented a framework for tracking changes to the national budget from proposal to implementation.
The paper was presented by Ebu Emmanuel on behalf of CISLAC Executive Director, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani.
According to CISLAC, the ICPC analysis examined 6,690 projects across 66 government agencies, with 4,508 projects valued at about N434.5bn flagged as inserted or padded.
Another 66 projects worth approximately N6.43bn were identified as duplicated.
CISLAC, however, cautioned against treating the ICPC classifications as proof of criminal conduct, stressing that the findings should instead trigger deeper scrutiny of how projects enter the budget and whether they can be justified.
The organisation said the constitutional power of the National Assembly to scrutinise and amend the Executive’s budget proposal was not in dispute.
Its concern, it said, was whether significant changes were properly justified, transparently made and traceable from the original Executive proposal to the final Appropriation Act.
CISLAC challenged lawmakers and budget officials to ensure that every major budget provision can answer nine basic questions:
What was proposed? What changed? Why did it change? Who justified it? Which agency will implement it? What will it cost? Where will it be implemented? Who will benefit? And how will delivery be verified?
It said the questions would help shift the debate from the politically charged expression “budget padding” to concrete issues of legality, transparency, traceability, value for money and accountability.
The organisation wants major budget items to carry clear public purposes, credible costings, locations, identified beneficiaries, responsible ministries or agencies and measurable expected outcomes.
It also urged lawmakers to establish whether proposed projects fall within the statutory mandates of the ministries, departments and agencies expected to execute them, while screening out duplicate projects before approval.
CISLAC further called for a clear legislative audit trail showing what was proposed, what changed and why.
The organisation also challenged journalists to move beyond reporting budget presentation and passage.
It urged the media to compare the Executive’s original proposal with the final Appropriation Act, investigate major additions and removals, scrutinise vague project descriptions and verify project locations and beneficiaries.
Journalists, it added, should track approved projects after appropriation to establish whether funds were released and used for the purposes stated in the budget.
CISLAC stressed that reports must distinguish between verified facts, institutional findings, allegations and established wrongdoing.
It called for stronger collaboration 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 summarised its accountability framework in nine words:
“Propose, Justify, Verify, Approve, Disclose, Implement, Monitor, Audit and Account.”
CISLAC said applying the framework consistently would make it easier to track budget changes and establish responsibility at every stage of the spending cycle.
It ended with a message to lawmakers and other stakeholders:
“Verify before appropriation. Disclose during the process. Monitor after approval. Account for every naira.”
