Days after the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) exposed how billions of naira in constituency projects were routed through agencies that had little to do with those projects, fresh findings by The ICIR have uncovered another vague, controversial budget allocation.
An analysis of the 2026 Appropriation Act shows that the Federal Ministry of Youth Development was allocated ₦14 billion for “Youth Empowerment Programmes Across the Nation” without project locations or details.
The allocation, one of the largest single intervention projects under the ministry’s capital expenditure, is contained alongside dozens of other projects broadly described as youth empowerment, policy implementation, stakeholder engagements and work experience programmes.
The ministry received a total allocation of ₦27.56 billion in the 2026 budget, comprising ₦3.23 billion for personnel costs, ₦7.45 billion for overhead expenditure and ₦16.87 billion for capital expenditure.
Of the capital allocation, ₦14 billion, representing about 83 per cent, is devoted to the single budget line, “Youth Empowerment Programmes Across the Nation.”
Budget transparency advocates have repeatedly warned that such vague project descriptions make it almost impossible for citizens to monitor implementation or determine whether public funds are spent for their intended purposes.
A senior research analyst with Budgit, Oludamilola Onemano, told The ICIR that the broad descriptions fall short of internationally recognised standards for budget transparency because they fail to provide sufficient information for citizens and oversight institutions to understand what the government intends to achieve with public funds.
Onemano said one of the core principles of sound public financial management is that public budgets should contain enough information for citizens, policymakers, legislators and oversight institutions to assess how public resources will be utilised.
She referenced the International Budget Partnership’s Open Budget Survey methodology, noting that one of its key pillars is transparency, which requires budgets to be comprehensive and provide detailed, easy-to-understand information.
While acknowledging that budgets are not expected to include every implementation detail, the research analyst said that broad descriptions such as “Youth Empowerment Programmes Across the Nation” do not provide sufficient information to support transparency and accountability.
“Such descriptions leave important questions unanswered. For instance, what specific programmes will be implemented? Who are the intended beneficiaries? How many young people are expected to benefit? Which states or communities will be covered? What outcomes are expected from the ₦14 billion allocation? She queried.
“Without this level of detail, it becomes difficult for citizens and oversight institutions to assess whether the allocation responds to the actual needs of young people or whether the resources are eventually used for their intended purpose,” he said, adding that it limits meaningful monitoring during implementation and weakens public accountability.
“Transparency is not merely about making budget figures available; it is about providing enough information for citizens to understand how public resources will be utilised and what results they are expected to deliver,” Onemano said.
PFIPC controversy
The findings come on the heels of the revelations surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), an organisation the Presidency later distanced itself from despite receiving a ₦1.302 billion allocation in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
Findings by The ICIR showed that the purported council was listed under the Presidency with ₦802.9 million for personnel costs, ₦200 million for overhead expenditure and ₦300 million for capital projects, even though the Presidency insisted it was never created by law, presidential directive or executive approval.
The defence, contained in a statement issued on July 1, however, did not explain why the council appeared in the 2026 budget with an allocation exceeding ₦1.3 billion.
The reaction followed allegations by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, who identified himself as the director-general of the PFIPC and accused the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of demanding part of the council’s alleged take-off grant.
Other youth allocations raise concerns
Beyond the ₦14 billion youth empowerment allocation, the ministry’s 2026 budget contains several other broadly described expenditures.
The budget earmarks ₦630 million for quarterly youth engagements across the six geopolitical zones, ₦49 million for quarterly budget assessment tours, ₦140 million for reviewing and implementing the National Youth Policy and ₦56 million for implementing the Nigeria Youth Employment Action Plan.
The ministry also allocated ₦33.6 million for monitoring constituency projects and ₦31.5 million for a Work Experience Programme.
Other allocations include ₦87.6 million for the National Youth in Agriculture Training and Empowerment Programme, ₦10.6 million for the Youth Market Connect Programme and ₦46.9 million for strengthening national support for young women and men on youth health and reproductive issues.
Oludamilola Onemano, the senior research analyst with Budgit, questioned whether these allocations provide enough information for citizens to determine whether they represent value for money.
Regarding the ₦630 million earmarked for quarterly youth engagements, she said the budget does not disclose how many engagements will be held, how many young people are expected to participate, the target beneficiaries, the activities to be conducted or how much of the allocation is for programme delivery compared with administrative and logistics costs.
“An allocation of ₦630 million for quarterly youth engagements raises several legitimate questions. How many engagements will be conducted? How many young people are expected to participate? Which is the target gender? What activities will take place? How much of the allocation is for programme delivery compared to administrative or logistics costs? More importantly, what outcomes are expected from these engagements?” the expert said.
While raising similar concerns over the ₦49 million allocated for quarterly budget assessment tours, Onemano argued that budget descriptions should move beyond listing activities and instead explain what the government intends to achieve with public resources.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M