Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana (SAN), has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of allowing alleged budget padding by the National Assembly, following revelations surrounding a ₦1.4 billion road project reportedly inserted into the budget of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education (NCAOOSCE).
Falana made the remarks while speaking at the Penpushing Media 8th Anniversary Lecture held on Thursday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, where he called for an immediate review of the 2026 federal budget to remove projects he described as illegally inserted.
The controversy stems from the allocation of ₦8.4 billion for road infrastructure projects in Ogun, Ekiti and Katsina states under the NCAOOSCE budget, despite the commission’s mandate focusing on education rather than road construction.
The commission had earlier distanced itself from the projects, claiming the National Assembly inserted the constituency projects into its budget without its approval.
Reacting to the development, Falana described the alleged insertions as a classic case of budget padding by lawmakers.
“It was recently disclosed that a road in Ogun State will be constructed with a sum of ₦1.4 billion. And that is what we call budget padding. Members of the National Assembly insert projects into the budget of agencies of government,” he said.
The senior lawyer argued that President Tinubu has the constitutional authority to reject such insertions but has allegedly failed to do so.
“We have always tried to expose them. But it appears that the President of the country allows it because the President has the right to object to illegal insertions into the budget. But these days, they are allowed by the President,” Falana stated.
Beyond the budget controversy, Falana also expressed concern over what he described as weak institutional oversight and persistent corruption in government, warning that the true scale of alleged public sector looting may only become clear after the current administration leaves office.
He urged Nigerians to report individuals whose wealth appears inconsistent with their legitimate income to anti-corruption agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), insisting that citizen participation is essential in the fight against corruption.
As of the time of filing this report, the Presidency had not publicly responded to Falana’s allegations.
#FemiFalana #BolaTinubu #BudgetPadding #NationalAssembly #EFCC #ICPC #Corruption #BreakingNews #NigeriaPolitics #TrendingNow
