An analysis of Nigeria’s 2026 Appropriation Act by Weekend Trust reveals that 16 federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies received a combined N205.96 billion for projects — including road construction, motorcycle distribution and solar electrification — entirely outside their statutory mandates, with some agencies dedicating over 90 per cent of their total budgets to off-mandate activities.
Nigeria’s space agency is buying sewing machines. Its peace institute is distributing motorcycles and fertiliser. And the agency for out-of-school children is building roads in three states.
An analysis of the 2026 Appropriation Act by Weekend Trust has uncovered that 16 federal agencies collectively received N205,957,972,172 for projects bearing no relationship to their core mandates — raising sharp questions about how Nigeria’s budget process has been systematically weaponised for constituency project distribution.
The most egregious case belongs to the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), which dedicated 91.98 per cent of its N19.34 billion budget — approximately N17.78 billion — to solar streetlights, motorcycle distribution, fertiliser supply and classroom construction.
The Nigeria Press Council allocated 87.47 per cent of its N11.89 billion budget to roads, electricity, school renovation and motorcycle distribution. The National Root Crops Research Institute dedicated 83.24 per cent of its N71.03 billion allocation to roads, bridges, solar projects and health infrastructure.
NEPAD dedicated 71.9 per cent of its N17.71 billion allocation to classrooms, hospitals, roads, markets and motorcycles. NASRDA — Nigeria’s space research agency — budgeted N7.75 billion for solar projects, mini-grids, sewing machines, block-making machines and farm machinery.
Even the Ministry of Defence — whose core mandate of fighting insecurity remains urgently unmet — budgeted N1.9 billion for solar projects, roads and pumping machines for farmers.
When queried, the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education acknowledged the off-mandate allocations but deflected responsibility, stating the projects were “National Assembly constituency projects incorporated into the 2026 Appropriation Act for implementation through the Commission” — confirming what budget analysts have long suspected: that MDAs have become convenient vehicles for lawmakers to funnel constituency spending through the national budget.
The findings build on earlier analysis showing three agriculture agencies spent over N810 million on transformers, tricycles and empowerment programmes in December 2024 — suggesting the practice is entrenched across multiple budget cycles.
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