Opposition parties and residents in Borno State have called for an independent investigation into the inclusion of a non-existent N4 billion railway project in the state’s 2025 budget implementation report.
The demands followed an admission by the Borno State Government that the project, which was listed as 100 per cent completed, was included in the report in error.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Usman Tar, said an internal review confirmed that no railway project was awarded, funded or executed by the state government in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council or Jere Local Government Area during the 2025 fiscal year.
According to him, consultations with the Ministry of Budget, the Ministry of Transport and Energy, and other relevant agencies found no record of any rail construction project undertaken within the period under review.
“The attention of the Borno State Government has been drawn to recent reports circulating in the public space alleging that the sum of Four Billion Naira (₦4,000,000,000) was spent on rail construction projects in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) and Jere Local Government Area without any evidence of execution on the ground,” the statement read.
Tar added: “It was, however, noted that the inclusion of rail project entry in the 2025 Budget Implementation Report, indicating 100 per cent completion, was an administrative error and does not reflect the true position of the matter as the said project was neither executed nor paid for.”
Reacting to the development, the Publicity Secretary of the Nigeria Democratic Congress in the state, Aliyu Balarabe, described the incident as a serious accountability issue and called on anti-corruption agencies to investigate.
“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 asked.
Balarabe alleged that the issue could point to a broader pattern and urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to conduct an impartial probe.
He said: “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.”
The spokesperson of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the state, Baba Mustapha, also demanded an investigation.
He said: “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.”
Residents also questioned the explanation offered by the state government and called for greater scrutiny of the budget figures.
A Maiduguri resident, Hassan Aminu, said the disclosure had raised concerns about the credibility of the expenditure figures contained in the report.
“Let us be clear about something. If the government said the inclusion of the four billion naira project is an administrative error. How then do we trust the total expenditure they gave us when it was calculated on an erroneous figure?” he said.
Another resident, who asked not to be identified, questioned what happened to the funds associated with the project.
“Something is not adding up. I am sure that we arrived at a total figure of what was spent, including this money. Now that it has been declared an error. Where then did the money go?” the resident asked.
The controversy has continued to generate debate in the state, with opposition parties and residents insisting that the matter requires a transparent and independent investigation.
