The federal government voted N2.3 trillion for the scrapped ministries of Niger Delta and Sports Development in the 2025 budget proposals, checks by Daily Trust have revealed.

Our correspondents could not establish whether it was an error or not, but experts said there was no diligence in putting the budget documents together even if at the end of the day it turned out that the monies earmarked were meant for the new Ministry of Regional Development and the National Sports Commission (NSC).

The Niger Delta and sports ministries were scrapped by the government in October when the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced the decision after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The National Sports Commission took over the role of the Ministry of Sports Development.

President Tinubu had last week presented the Appropriation Bill of N49.7 trillion to a joint session of the National Assembly.

Checks by the Daily Trust also revealed that the budget proposals did not capture the new Ministry of Regional Development.

The reinstated National Sports Commission (NSC) was also not allocated any funds, according to the document.

For the scrapped Ministry of Sports Development, the budget shows an allocation of N95 billion, with N0.9 billion allocated for personnel, N14 billion for overhead and N79.7 billion for capital expenditure.

The Ministry of Regional Development is meant to supervise all the regional development bodies like the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the North East Development Commission (NEDC), the North West Development Commission (NWDC), the South West Development Commission (SWDC) and the South East Development Commission (SEDC).

However, in the details of the 2025 Appropriation Bill that was released by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, the sum of N2.23 trillion was budgeted for the scrapped Niger Delta Ministry.

A breakdown of the budgetary provision for the ministry shows that personnel cost will gulp N2.205 trillion, while N1.7 billion is budgeted for overhead and N24.5 billion for capital expenditure.

What is curious in the details of the budget estimates is that besides the allocation to the scrapped Niger Delta ministry, all the five regional development commissions also have their separate allocations.

Regional commissions to gulp N2.49trn

The Appropriation Bill showed the allocations of N2.49 trillion for the existing NDDC and NEDC, as well as the newly established NWDC, SWDC and SEDC.

A sum of N776.53 billion was proposed for the NDDC; NWDC got N585.93 billion; SWDC got N498.40 billion; SEDC got N341.27 billion; and NEDC got N290.99 billion.

N180m for Villa?s animals

Meanwhile, the State House has been allocated the sum of N179.6 million for wildlife conservation in the 2025 budget proposals.

Daily Trust reports that the Presidential Wildlife Sanctuary (PWLS), formerly known as the State House Zoo, was approved for upgrade during the last administration of then President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to the details of the budget, N124,612,890 would be spent on wildlife conservation while another N54,951,622 was allocated for the conversion/upgrade of Villa Ranch and the construction of Wildlife Conservation Capture.

The Appropriation Bill also showed that maintenance of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, would gulp N5,492,349,184; and procurement of operational vehicles, N3,661,566,123

Budget lacks structural reforms, fiscal discipline ? Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, in his assessment of the 2025 Appropriation Bill, said it lacks the structural reforms and fiscal discipline required to address Nigeria?s multifaceted economic challenges.

He said to enhance the budget?s credibility, the administration must prioritise the reduction of inefficiencies in government operations, tackle contract inflation, and focus on long-term fiscal sustainability rather than perpetuate ?unsustainable borrowing and recurrent spending patterns.?

According to him, a shift towards a more disciplined and growth-oriented fiscal policy is essential for the nation?s economic recovery.

Atiku alleged that the budget reflects a continuation of business-as-usual fiscal practices.

?This represents a persistent trend under the APC-led administration since 2016, wherein budget deficits have been consistently presented, accompanied by an increasing reliance on external borrowing.

?To bridge this fiscal gap, the administration plans to secure over N13 trillion in new borrowings, including N9 trillion in direct borrowings and N4 trillion in project-specific loans. This borrowing strategy mirrors the approach of previous administrations, resulting in rising public debt and exacerbating the attendant risks related to interest payments and foreign exchange exposure.?

He also said the 2025 budget?s capacity to foster sustainable economic growth and tackle Nigeria?s deep-rooted challenges is questionable.

?Key issues arise from several factors: 1. Weak Budgetary Foundations: The 2024 budget?s underperformance signals poor budgetary execution. By Q3 of the fiscal year, less than 35% of the allocated capital expenditure for MDAs had been disbursed, despite claims of 85% budget execution.

?This underperformance in capital spending, crucial for fostering economic transformation, raises concerns about the execution of the 2025 budget.

?Disproportionate debt servicing: Debt servicing, which accounts for N15.8 trillion (33% of the total expenditure), is nearly equal to planned capital expenditure (N16 trillion, or 34%). Moreover, debt servicing surpasses spending on key priority sectors such as defence (N4.91 trillion), infrastructure (N4.06 trillion), education (N3.52 trillion), and health (N2.4 trillion). This imbalance will likely crowd out essential investments and perpetuate a cycle of increasing borrowing and debt accumulation, undermining fiscal stability.

?Unsustainable government expenditure: The government?s recurrent expenditure remains disproportionately high, with over N14 trillion (30% of the budget) allocated to operating an oversized bureaucracy and supporting inefficient public enterprises. The lack of concrete steps to curb wastage and enhance the efficiency of public spending exacerbates the fiscal challenges, leaving limited resources for development.

?Insufficient capital investment: After accounting for debt servicing and recurrent expenditure, the remaining allocation for capital spending, ranging from 25% to 34% of the total budget is insufficient to address Nigeria?s infrastructure deficit and stimulate growth. This equates to an average capital allocation of approximately N80,000 (US$45) per capita, insufficient to meet the demands of a nation grappling with slow growth and infrastructural underdevelopment.

?Regressive taxation and economic strain: The administration?s decision to increase the VAT rate from 7.5% to 10% is a retrogressive measure that will exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis and impede economic growth.

By imposing additional tax burdens on an already struggling populace while failing to address governance inefficiencies, the government risks stifling domestic consumption and further deepening economic hardship,? Atiku said.

Allocations to scrapped ministries embarrassing ? CISLAC

Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, yesterday said making provisions for the scrapped ministries in the 2025 budget proposals was embarrassing, scandalous and ridiculous.

In a chat with Daily Trust, he urged the National Assembly to be very vigilant and not to approve the fiscal document in a hurry.

?The discovery of this insertion or provisions of the budgetary allocation to these ministries that have been scrapped by Mr. President clearly shows that this budget was not done thoroughly and was not done on the basis of need assessment and was not done with the view to ensure that there is a quality service or good governance attached to it.

?We cannot be doing this analogue budget of copy and paste. Mr. President needs to caution the people that are putting this budget because it is very embarrassing to see that government is putting huge amount of money to places where they did not even exist.

?This is very scandalous and very ridiculous and shows really clearly the intention of some people to siphon this money. Because if this budget is not done properly, it is not going to be a good thing for the government. If this budget goes without removing these items, it clearly means that some people are out there to corner this money and that is why in the first place this bogus budget that the government presented is uncalled for.

He said that Nigeria need to do a realistic budget that will really help bring about quality governance and development.

He said, ?We need to do a budget that can finance development and reduce poverty, reduce unemployment, create conducive atmosphere in terms of social infrastructure, in terms of security, in terms of the well-being of Nigerians.

?We cannot be doing a budget of copy and paste that clearly showed intention, deliberate and conscious intention to make provision of agencies or ministries that didn?t even exist. This really clearly showed that the National Assembly members have to do something very rigorous to find out all those areas of suspicion, duplication, and areas that are clearly meant to waste public taxpayers? money,? he said. (Daily Trust)

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