Nigeria ₦7 Trillion Budget Scandal: Obi Calls Nigeria 'A Crime Scene' as Lawmakers Insert 11,000 Suspicious Projects

A bombshell report by BudgIT has uncovered ₦6.93 trillion in suspicious insertions in Nigeria’s 2025 budget, prompting Peter Obi to declare the country “a crime scene.” With 11,000 questionable projects allegedly added by lawmakers, this scandal reveals how budget padding remains Nigeria’s most lucrative illegal industry.

• Staggering Scale: ₦6.93 trillion (11,000 projects) exceeds the budgets of health, education, and infrastructure combined.
• Legislative Culprits: Senate President Akpabio and Speaker Abbas lead the APC-dominated NASS, accused of institutionalizing graft.
• Obi’s Indictment: “This isn’t governance-it-it’s organized crime,” the LP leader asserted, linking corruption to 20M out-of-school children and healthcare collapse.
• Tip of Iceberg: Civic tech analysts warn the actual looted sum could be higher, with opaque procurement processes.

While past budget scandals sparked temporary outrage, this ₦7tn heist, equivalent to 15% of Nigeria’s GDP, exposes a systemic failure: the budget process itself has become a tool for elite capture.

When lawmakers treat national coffers as ATMs, citizens pay with their futures. Is Nigeria’s budget system beyond repair? Should the presidency have veto power over NASS insertions?