Budget 2026: FG Agencies Allocate Nearly ₦400bn to Mosques, Palaces, Community Projects

No fewer than 78 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government have earmarked nearly ₦400 billion in the 2026 budget for the construction and rehabilitation of community halls, mosques, traditional rulers’ palaces, village market squares and civic centres, according to an analysis of the Appropriation Act.

The budget also allocates more than half of the amount to projects such as the supply of grains, motorcycles and tricycles, sponsorship of community thrift societies, and the construction of museums and mini-stadia.

Among the MDAs with such allocations are the Ministry of Defence Headquarters, the Nigerian Air Force, Air Power Centre of Excellence, Nigerian Defence Academy, Technical Aid Corps, Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, National Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI), National Productivity Centre, Industrial Training Fund and several agricultural research institutions.

The allocations have drawn criticism from economists and public finance experts, who argue that many of the projects fall outside the statutory mandates of the agencies executing them and divert scarce public resources from critical national priorities.

Analysts contend that the proliferation of relatively small constituency-type projects weakens fiscal discipline and limits investment in sectors such as healthcare, education, security, roads, power and other infrastructure with broader economic impact.

They also expressed concern over the insertion of projects unrelated to the core responsibilities of some agencies.

For example, the National Building and Road Research Institute’s budget includes the construction of village halls in Akukwa, Anambra State; an international market in Birniwa, Jigawa State; traditional rulers’ palaces in Rivers and Kogi states; market stalls in Gubio; a multipurpose hall in Sanga, Kaduna State; and the remodelling of five mosques in Kebbi, Ekiti and Jigawa states.

Similarly, the National Productivity Centre’s budget provides for support to Ijaw musicians, construction of an Emir’s palace in Yobe State, refurbishment of Obas’ palaces in Ogun State, an econometrics laboratory in Ekiti State and an abattoir in Gombe State.

The National Mathematical Centre is also billed to finance the construction of a Sociology Department building at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, a project critics say is outside the institution’s core mandate.

Consultant economist and former central banker, Chukwunonso Ihuma, blamed the National Assembly for the inclusion of such projects, alleging that lawmakers frequently insert constituency projects into agency budgets.

According to him, the practice undermines effective budgeting and accountability.

“All these are down to poor oversight by the National Assembly. In most cases, they are even the ones inserting, smuggling and padding these budgets,” he said.

Ihuma advocated a return to zero-based budgeting, under which every expenditure must be justified from scratch, rather than carried over from previous budgets.

He also urged the Budget Office to reject projects that have no direct relevance to the mandates of MDAs, arguing that markets, civic centres and traditional rulers’ palaces are primarily the responsibility of state and local governments or host communities.

The concerns come amid broader questions over the sustainability of the 2026 budget, which President Bola Tinubu signed into law in April with a total expenditure of ₦68.32 trillion.

The Federal Government is also still implementing aspects of the 2025 budget following an extension of the capital expenditure deadline to September 30, 2026, approved by the Senate to prevent project abandonment.

The Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) has urged stronger fiscal coordination, improved revenue mobilisation and structural reforms to ensure effective budget implementation.

Also commenting, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr. Muda Yusuf, said the discontinuation of the Central Bank’s Ways and Means financing had widened the government’s funding gap, making budget implementation more challenging.

He noted that the 2026 budget projects ₦36.87 trillion in revenue against expenditure of ₦68.32 trillion, leaving a significant deficit to be financed through borrowing. The budget is based on an oil benchmark of $75 per barrel, oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day, GDP growth of between 4.28 and 4.68 per cent, and debt servicing estimated at ₦15.81 trillion.

Yusuf called for more realistic budget assumptions and stronger reliance on expert input, warning that prolonged implementation of successive budgets and the inclusion of projects outside the mandates of MDAs undermine public confidence in the budgeting process.

Media strategist and former adviser to Vice President Namadi Sambo, Umar Sani, however, noted that not all projects inserted into budgets are eventually implemented, adding that previous administrations had, on occasion, declined to approve budgets containing questionable provisions.