BudgIT, a civic-tech non-profit organisation, says it has uncovered 316 duplicated capital projects worth N39.5 billion in the 2021 budget. ln a statement, Iyanu Fatoba, communications associate at BudgIT, said the organisation’s findings is contained in its publication titled, “Demanding Budget Reforms for Resource Optimisation”, released on Tuesday.
On December 31, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the 2021 appropriation bill of N13.588 trillion into law. The signing was done more than a week after federal lawmakers passed the budget and raised its total sum by N508 billion.
Speaking on the report, Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s CEO, said out of the identified 316 duplicated projects, 115 are in the ministry of health. He said the development is “very disturbing” as the country is battling a deficit in health infrastructure across the 36 states.
Okeowo added the some ministries also received approvals for projects outside the scope of their mandate.
A“Our investigations into the 2021 budget revealed at least 316 duplicated capital projects worth N39.5bn, with 115 of those duplicate projects occurring in the Ministry of Health. This is very disturbing especially considering the health infrastructure deficit and the raging COVID-19 pandemic affecting Nigeria,” he said.