A civic accountability organisation, MonITng, has raised alarm over a ₦3 billion allocation in the 2025 federal budget for the provision of solar streetlights in the South-South region of Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the group described the budgetary provision as “questionable” and called for urgent investigation by anti-corruption agencies.
The project, listed under the code ERGP20261928, is titled “Provision/Installation of Modern Digital Solar Streetlights in Selected Locations of South-South Geo-Political Zones of Nigeria (Lot 1-6).” According to the budget, the project will be handled by the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), an agency under the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy.
MonITng questioned why an agency created to promote and develop Nigeria’s film industry was suddenly saddled with providing streetlights.
“This raises critical questions about the sincerity of budget planning and implementation in Nigeria,” the group said. “The Nigerian Film Corporation is not mandated to provide solar streetlights. Why then is it assigned a project that has nothing to do with its role? This is suspicious and an example of how public funds are diverted into projects that citizens cannot properly track.”
Concerns Over Vagueness and Transparency
The group also faulted the project’s description, which does not specify the communities or states in the South-South that are expected to benefit.
“The project description is deliberately vague. Without clear locations, how can citizens track implementation? This makes it nothing more than a drainpipe for siphoning scarce public resources,” MonITng added.
It further argued that the allocation was misplaced considering the state of infrastructure in the region.
“Schools are collapsing, health facilities are in ruins, and roads remain in terrible condition, yet ₦3 billion is being pushed into streetlights that are often poorly installed, overpriced, and stop working within weeks,” the statement said.
Questions on Cost and Justification
MonITng also questioned the huge expenditure, asking what exactly makes the solar streetlights “modern” and “digital.”
“Nigerians have seen this pattern repeatedly: inflated budgets for streetlights, questionable execution, and no real benefit to the people,” the group noted.
Broader Concerns About Governance
The organisation tied the issue to what it described as weak governance and poor oversight in the country’s budgeting process.
“All this is happening under the leadership of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, while the country continues to borrow heavily. How do we justify borrowing funds for projects that will never be implemented or that serve no real purpose? This is a betrayal of public trust,” it said.
Call for Investigation
MonITng urged the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately investigate the allocation.
“We call on anti-graft agencies to demand disclosure of the exact communities and states where the project is meant to be executed and to hold those behind this budgetary fraud accountable. Public funds must be used to improve schools, hospitals, and infrastructure that truly transform lives, not to fund dubious solar streetlight projects that serve as conduits for corruption,” the group declared.
