Nigeria's budget process has been repeatedly marred by significant scandals, exposing deep vulnerabilities in its financial oversight. A 2016 incident saw Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, then Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, publicly accuse House leadership of budget padding.
Jibrin alleged that Speaker Yakubu Dogara and other principal officers had inserted projects worth over N30 billion into the 2016 Appropriation Act through questionable means. This led to his suspension for 180 legislative days and sparked a national debate on corruption and transparency.
2026 Fake Agency Scandal Reveals Deeper Breach
Fast forward to 2026, and Nigeria faces another budget-related scandal, this time involving a fictitious government agency that allegedly secured N1.3 billion in the national budget. Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi is accused of creating a non-existent body called the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.
He allegedly forged official documents, operated from an office at the Federal Secretariat, and obtained a budget allocation. The Presidency has since disowned the agency, describing it as fictitious, and the matter has been referred to the EFCC.
This 2026 scandal is more alarming as it goes beyond legislative manipulation, involving a private citizen creating a government agency from scratch. It highlights a direct test of institutional verification, exposing deeper weaknesses in how government institutions verify and document public expenditure.
Persistent Loopholes in Verification and Oversight
Both the 2016 and 2026 scandals underscore fundamental problems: manipulation and abuse of Nigeria’s budget process. In both cases, public funds were allegedly diverted or allocated through questionable means, either through project insertion or the creation of a fake agency.
Nigeria’s budget process suffers from several structural weaknesses. There is weak verification of new agencies, as demonstrated by the 2026 scandal where a non-existent body received a budget code and allocation. Documentation also remains poor, allowing individuals to forge documents and open bank accounts without immediate detection.
Furthermore, oversight is inadequate. The National Assembly is expected to scrutinise the budget thoroughly, yet questionable allocations persist. The executive arm, through the Budget Office and Ministry of Finance, also failed to detect the non-existent agency's N1.3 billion allocation, revealing a broken approval chain.
Impact on Public and International Confidence
Beyond financial loss, these scandals severely damage public trust. Many Nigerians now view the national budget as a tool for personal enrichment rather than development, reinforcing the belief that no institution is immune to manipulation.
Internationally, such incidents reinforce Nigeria’s poor reputation for corruption and weak institutions, weakening its moral authority when seeking debt relief or international support. When a country cannot guarantee that allocated funds go to real institutions, it becomes harder to attract serious partners.
The N1.3 billion allegedly allocated to the non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council could have reduced Nigeria's persistent budget deficits or funded critical infrastructure. Instead, it adds to the deficit, which will eventually be financed through loans.
At the core of both scandals is the personalisation of public office, where institutions are treated as personal fiefdoms. This culture erodes public trust and makes the budget process vulnerable to abuse, indicating that Nigeria's budget failures are symptoms of a deeper institutional problem requiring strengthened systems of verification, documentation, and oversight.
