The organisation, in a statement issued on Wednesday, flagged what it described as a questionable budgetary provision by tbe President Bola Tinubu-led government.
A civic accountability platform, MonITng, has raised concerns over the allocation of ₦3billion in the 2025 Nigerian government budget for the provision of solar streetlights in the South-South region of the country.
The organisation, in a statement issued on Wednesday, flagged what it described as a questionable budgetary provision by tbe President Bola Tinubu-led government.
“Our attention has been drawn to a disturbing project captured in the 2025 Federal Government budget,” the organisation stated.
“The project with code ERGP20261928 is titled Provision/Installation of Modern Digital Solar Streetlights in Selected Locations of South-South Geo-Political Zones of Nigeria (Lot 1-6). A whopping ₦3 billion has been allocated for this project, to be implemented by the Nigerian Film Corporation under the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy. (@Fmactce_Nigeria).”
MonITng questioned why the Nigerian Film Corporation, an agency set up to promote and develop the film industry, would be assigned to deliver solar streetlight projects.
“This raises critical questions about the sincerity of budget planning and implementation in Nigeria. The Nigerian Film Corporation(@nigfilmcorp1 ) is a body created to promote and develop the film industry, not to provide solar streetlights. Why then is such an agency suddenly saddled with a project that has nothing to do with its mandate? This is not only suspicious but also a clear example of how public funds are diverted into projects that cannot be tracked or properly monitored by citizens.”
The organisation further alleged that the project lacked clarity.
“The project description is deliberately vague. Which communities in the South-South are to benefit from these solar streetlights? Which states exactly are listed for implementation? How do citizens track a project whose location is shrouded in secrecy? Without transparency, this project becomes nothing more than a drainpipe for siphoning scarce public resources.”
MonITng added that the allocation was misplaced considering the state of infrastructure in the South-South region.
“It is even more disturbing when we consider the state of basic infrastructure in the South-South. Schools are collapsing, health facilities are in ruins, roads remain in terrible condition, yet ₦3 billion is being diverted for streetlights that are often poorly installed, overpriced, and in most cases stop working within weeks.”
“What exactly is ‘modern’ and ‘digital’ about these solar streetlights that justifies such a huge expenditure? Nigerians have seen this pattern repeatedly: inflated budgets for streetlights, questionable execution, and no real benefit to the people.”
The group also tied the issue to broader concerns about governance.
“All this is happening under the leadership of the Senate President, @Senator_Akpabio, while the country continues to borrow heavily. How do we justify borrowing funds that are then tied to projects that will never be implemented or that serve no real purpose to citizens? This is a betrayal of public trust and a misuse of scarce national resources.”
MonITng therefore urged anti-graft agencies to act swiftly.
“We call on @icpcnigeria and @officialEFCC to immediately investigate this allocation, demand disclosure of the exact communities and states where the project is meant to be executed, and hold those behind this budgetary fraud accountable. Public funds must be used to improve schools, hospitals, and infrastructure that genuinely transform lives, not to fund dubious solar streetlight projects that serve as conduits for corruption.”