The budget of deception: How Nigeria’s 2025 federal government expenditures threaten democracy and development

DDM News

Nigeria’s 2025 Federal Government budget, totaling approximately N25 trillion, reveals a disturbing pattern that reflects the nation’s perennial problem of ineffective governance and the misallocation of resources.

While the budget is touted as a blueprint for national growth, a deeper examination exposes significant expenditures that stand as clear threats to Nigeria’s democratic process and economic development.

From bloated political expenditures to inflated security allocations and vanity projects, the budget represents a dangerous shift in priorities that undermines both the aspirations of the Nigerian people and the country’s long-term stability.

A major concern within the 2025 budget is the significant allocation of funds to support the political class.

Despite the increasing poverty rates and the struggles of ordinary Nigerians, the government has committed a substantial portion of the budget to cover the costs of maintaining a large political structure.

The National Assembly, the presidency, and other key political offices receive a combined allocation that exceeds N1 trillion, an amount that many argue could be better utilized in the nation’s social services and infrastructure development.

For example, the allocation to fund the salaries and allowances of lawmakers, ministers, and other political officeholders accounts for a substantial chunk of this expenditure.

The excessive pay and perks given to public officials, especially in a country where a large proportion of the population lives below the poverty line, reflects a worrying disconnect between the ruling elite and the people.

In comparison, the budget for social welfare programs, healthcare, and education remains woefully inadequate.

This budgetary imbalance perpetuates a system where the elite thrive on the back of the struggling masses, eroding trust in democratic institutions and fueling the perception of government as an instrument for the benefit of a few.

Another alarming aspect of the 2025 budget is the continued emphasis on security funding, with a proposed allocation of nearly N2 trillion.

While it is undeniable that Nigeria faces significant security challenges, including insurgencies, banditry, and violent extremism, the manner in which funds are allocated for security remains shrouded in mystery.

The opaque nature of security spending has long been a source of concern, with allegations of corruption, mismanagement, and the diversion of funds to personal coffers.

Historically, large sums of money have been earmarked for the military and other security agencies, yet Nigerians continue to suffer from widespread insecurity.

The increase in funding for security forces without a clear plan for oversight or accountability raises serious questions.

Funds that should be directed towards essential services like healthcare, education, and job creation are instead funneled into a security apparatus that often fails to deliver tangible results for the people.

A closer look at the allocation reveals a disturbing trend: much of the security budget is devoted to administrative costs, procurement of equipment, and allowances for top military brass.

Meanwhile, frontline security personnel, who are at the heart of the battle against terrorism and criminality, continue to suffer from poor wages, inadequate equipment, and a lack of proper training.

This failure to address the root causes of insecurity while indulging in high-level administrative spending only exacerbates Nigeria’s vulnerability.

The 2025 budget is also replete with vanity projects that serve more to showcase the power of the ruling elite than to address the real needs of the population.

These projects, such as expensive infrastructural initiatives and iconic building programs, often receive massive funding despite their dubious benefits to the average Nigerian.

While the government continues to roll out ambitious plans for mega projects like the construction of unnecessary bridges, airports, and government buildings, the country’s basic infrastructure, such as roads, schools, and hospitals, remain dilapidated.

One of the most glaring examples of this is the N150 billion earmarked for the construction of a new National Assembly Complex.

This is despite the fact that the current building is still functional and serves its purpose.

Critics argue that such spending is not only wasteful but also an affront to the people, especially in light of the severe underfunding of critical sectors like health and education.

Meanwhile, the country continues to face a major crisis in basic public services: hospitals are ill-equipped to handle the growing population, schools are underfunded, and unemployment remains a persistent challenge.

The same pattern extends to the N50 billion allocated for the renovation and expansion of government office buildings.

These expenditures serve to bolster the status of public officeholders rather than improve the lives of citizens.

While politicians and bureaucrats enjoy new offices and modern facilities, the people continue to suffer from basic service deficiencies.

These vanity projects serve as a tool for political elites to consolidate power and create a veneer of progress, but they do little to address the structural issues that undermine Nigeria’s development.

While the Nigerian government continues to promote the 2025 budget as an instrument for development, the allocations tell a different story.

The budget fails to adequately address the key sectors that could drive national development.

For instance, the health sector is allocated only about N1.5 trillion, a far cry from the N5 trillion recommended by experts for improving healthcare access, addressing the country’s high maternal and child mortality rates, and tackling the growing burden of non-communicable diseases.

Similarly, the education sector receives a paltry N1.1 trillion, which is insufficient to address the challenges facing the nation’s education system.

Nigeria’s public education sector is in dire straits, with overcrowded classrooms, poorly paid teachers, and a lack of basic teaching materials.

The allocation falls far short of the UNESCO recommendation that 26% of a country’s budget should be dedicated to education.

Instead of prioritizing the future of Nigerian children and youth, the government appears more interested in reinforcing the privileges of the political elite.

Job creation, a key pillar of national development, is another area where the budget is severely lacking.

Despite rising unemployment rates and the challenges faced by young people in securing employment, the budget allocates a fraction of its funds to initiatives aimed at tackling these issues.

Instead, more money is directed to unproductive political spending and redundant projects.

The 2025 budget, with its focus on sustaining the political elite, inflating security budgets without results, and indulging in vanity projects, poses a grave threat to Nigeria’s democracy.

Democracy thrives on transparency, accountability, and the efficient allocation of resources to serve the people’s needs.

However, the Nigerian government’s priorities, as reflected in this budget, serve only to further entrench the existing power structures, stifle public dissent, and perpetuate a system of governance that is detached from the real needs of the people.

In a healthy democracy, budgets should reflect the will and aspirations of the populace.

But in Nigeria, the budget continues to serve as a tool for self-preservation by those in power, leaving the majority of the population disenfranchised and disenillusioned.

Without a radical shift in how the budget is structured and implemented, Nigeria’s democracy and development will remain at risk, continually held hostage by a system that favors the few at the expense of the many.

Nigeria’s 2025 Federal Government budget is a mirror of the country’s dysfunctional political and economic system.

With excessive spending on political elites, inflated security allocations without tangible outcomes, and vanity projects that serve no real public purpose, the budget betrays the very essence of democracy and national development.

Until the government prioritizes the needs of the people over the interests of the powerful, Nigeria will continue to face stagnation and instability, undermining its prospects for genuine democratic progress and sustainable development.

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