Opposition demands probe over Borno ₦4bn rail project error

Opposition parties and residents in Borno State, Nigeria, are calling for an external investigation into the erroneous inclusion of a ₦4 billion railway project in the state's 2025 budget implementation report. The state government has acknowledged the error, describing it as an administrative mistake.

The Borno State government, through its Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Usman Tar, issued a statement confirming that an internal review found no record of any railway project being awarded, funded, or executed by the state within the 2025 fiscal year in the Maiduguri Metropolitan Council and Jere Local Government Area. The statement clarified that the project's entry, marked as 100 percent complete, was an error and did not reflect the actual situation.

“

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?

Reacting to the government's admission, the Publicity Secretary of the Nigeria Democratic Party in Borno, Aliyu Balarabe, expressed concerns about accountability and transparency. He questioned how such a significant error involving billions of naira could occur in the state budget and demanded an investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC).

Balarabe suggested that this incident might indicate a pattern of similar issues within the state government, which was only exposed due to public alarm. He urged the anti-corruption agencies to conduct a fair and unbiased investigation. Similarly, the Spokesperson for the African Democratic Party in the state, Baba Mustapha, criticized the government's handling of the budget, further fueling calls for a thorough probe into the alleged financial mismanagement.

“

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.