A public policy think tank, Agora Policy, has described Nigeria’s federally funded constituency projects as a major source of legislative corruption, calling for their outright removal from the federal budget.
With constituency projects initiated by the legislative arm of government taking 12.6 per cent of the total N54.99 trillion federal government budget for 2025, the group has called for the development of a policy framework for implementing constituency projects, saying the allocation of funds for the projects should only at the discretion of the executive and the local authorities.
Agora Policy, in its latest policy memo with the title “Sanitising the Operations of Nigeria’s Federally-Funded Constituency Projects,” called for an end to legislative additions to the budget, saying allowing lawmakers to insert projects in the national budget, is contrary to the principles of Nigeria’s presidential system and a major contributor to inefficiency and corruption in public spending.
Noting that the N6.93 trillion constituency project additions to the 2025 budgets included items like streetlights, boreholes, renovation of townhalls and empowerment of traditional rulers, which “should have no place in a federal budget,” the policy think tank said “using federal resources to fund some of these basic items, which should fall within the scope of local government areas or, at best, states, distorts the principle of federalism and shields subnational governments from accountability.
“Nigeria’s federal structure was designed to promote efficiency through a clear separation of responsibilities among the three tiers of government. The roles of the executive and legislature in the budgeting process are specified in the constitution,” it said, pointing out that the inclusion of constituency projects in the federal budget is alien to the presidential system of government which Nigeria practises.
It further argued that allowing legislators to appropriate for themselves the power to initiate and determine specific projects violates the separation of powers principle.
“The executive is responsible for preparing and implementing the budget, while the legislature is empowered to scrutinise and approve budgets, and monitor implementation. The executive cannot approve budgets and the legislature cannot initiate budgets,” it said.
Agora Policy further noted that while the original idea behind constituency projects may have been to deliver grassroots development, they have over time become “vehicles for patronage and self-interest,” often lacking transparency, proper needs assessment, or measurable impact.”
Citing numerous reports, including investigations by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), the think tank said many of the projects are either poorly executed, duplicated, inflated, or do not exist at all even when billions of naira were allocated to them annually.
“Constituency projects have also become vehicles for corruption and abuse of office, as investigations and recoveries by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) have amply shown. A review of the 2025 budget also reveals many instances where projects are assigned to agencies outside of their mandates and competencies.
“Most of the constituency projects also come at the tail-end of the budget process, and are unilaterally initiated by legislators. There are also documented instances where the legislators implement the projects through proxies or relatives, and cases where these projects are not implemented at all even after release of funds or where the quality of work does not match the amount allocated,” it said.
Listing the flaws in the conception and execution of the constituency projects, it said “over the time, legislators have made a habit of including in approved budgets some items not in the appropriation bills submitted by the executive.
“Legislators have now come to regard constituency projects as their annual entitlements that they can allocate to whatever projects they want and at whatever costs they decide, and with no questions asked since they do the approvals themselves and they also monitor implementation through oversight.”
It also criticised the deployment of federal resources into projects that ought to fall within the purview of subnational governments.
“Legislators have developed a penchant for micro projects such as streetlights and boreholes that should be the responsibility of local authorities (and without consideration of how those projects would be maintained afterwards).
According to BudgIT, 1,477 streetlight projects worth N393.29 billion and 538 borehole projects worth N114.53 billion were included in the 2025 budget by the National Assembly.
There are also inclusions in the budget of projects such as renovation of townhalls and palaces and purchase of fairly-used cars for traditional rulers. This is asides the inclusion of projects that have no bearing to MDAs such as the construction of palace in the budget of Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.
“These are items that should have no place in a federal budget. This is not to say federal funds cannot be used for local matters but this should be based on a strategic decision by the federal government and on projects that are either beyond the capacity of the local authorities or on projects that have catalytic value.” It said.
Thus, it called for the sanitising the process for initiating and delivering federally-funded constituency projects.
“The reform option will not necessarily be smooth-sailing. Those benefiting from the status quo will find ways to push back. But the refinement option is more practical and stands a higher chance of success than the abolition one.
“For this to work, the executive arm needs to take the lead and must re-assert, in a politically deft manner, its authority to initiate, design and implement budgets. It will be necessary for the executive to develop a policy framework for implementing constituency projects.
“This framework should specify the upper limit of constituency projects in each budget (either as absolute number or as a percentage), the modality for distribution (whether the allocation will be on zonal, state or constituency basis), what federal funds can be used for, and the deadline and the channel for legislators to make inputs into budget proposals by the executive before it is sent to the National Assembly. The framework should also have unambiguous provisions on conflict of interests in the procurement of contractors for these projects,” it said.
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