The Budget Office of the Federation has dismissed a viral infographic suggesting Lagos was the biggest beneficiary of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s budget, clarifying instead that the North West received the largest allocation.
Our correspondent gathered that the Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, explained in a statement on Sunday that the North West received ₦5.9 trillion, representing 40 per cent of the budget.
He said the South-South followed with ₦2.41 trillion, North Central ₦1.13 trillion, South East ₦407 billion, North East ₦400 billion, and South West (excluding Lagos) ₦604 billion.
Yakubu described the report, which inflated Lagos’ share, as a “Lagos illusion,” insisting that most of the highlighted projects were national highways and infrastructure that only pass through Lagos.
“By that logic, the Kano–Maiduguri expressway could be called a Maiduguri-only project,” he noted.
Defending the focus on the North West, Yakubu cited the revival of the Kaduna Power Plant and other key projects.
“This is not neglect; it is recognition. It is gratitude made concrete, kilometre by kilometre, megawatt by megawatt,” he said.