Opposition Raises Alarm Over Non-Existent ₦4 Billion Rail Project In Borno Budget

Opposition parties in Borno State have demanded an external investigation into the inclusion of a non-existent four billion naira railway project in the 2025 budget implementation report by the government of the state.

NEWSNGR reports that the state government on Monday had admitted that the inclusion of the project, which was marked as 100 per cent complete, was an administrative error.

The state Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Usman Tar, said an internal review conducted by relevant ministries confirmed that no rail project was awarded, funded or executed by the state government during the 2025 fiscal year in the Maiduguri Metropolitan Council and the Jere Local Government Area.

Reacting during an interview with Punch, the Publicity Secretary of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the state, Aliyu Balarabe, called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to conduct a fair and transparent investigation into the issue.

“We see it as a lack of accountability and transparency in governance. There is no way that something as serious as a state budget will have such errors. We are not talking about millions, but billions of naira. If it is an error, where are the funds? he queried.

“This just goes to show that the state government have been doing something like this for a while. But this time around, it was exposed by an alarm. We call on the EFCC and ICPC to fear God and be unbiased in investigating this issue,” he noted.

On his part, the Spokesperson of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the state, Baba Mustapha, described the government’s action as unfortunate

“It is unfortunate. We saw in the media that four billion naira was budgeted for the railway in my state, and we did not see anything. There should be an investigation, and the issue should not be let die down. This money is not private but public. If they don’t do it now, by the time the government is changed, they will account for it,” he stated.