The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and the Federal Ministry of Education has jointly earmarked over N15 Billion for software related projects in the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
These two government agencies are the biggest spender topping the list of about 115 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) seeking budgetary provisions for software acquisitions and projects for the year 2026.
This concentrated outlay, contained in the N58.18 trillion fiscal document currently under legislative scrutiny, signals an aggressive,yet costly, pivot toward digital consolidation under the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s “Budget of Consolidation and Renewed Resilience.”
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Although, 10 agencies account for the largest share of spending on technology upgrades amounting to a total of N24 billion, NIMC alone is reportedly spending about N7.58 billion, while the Ministry of Education is close behind at N7.55 billion. These two agencies alone account for more than 60% of that N24 billion total.
Beyond the two leading spenders, the Mining Cadastral Office and the Geological Survey Agency of Nigeria follow with N2.23 billion and N1.32 billion respectively. While the National Cybercrime Coordination Centre (NCCC) also features prominently with a N1.26 billion allocation.
Citing the importance of digitizing operations and stregthening its digital adminstrations, the scale of these proposals has begun to draw the attention of fiscal transparency advocates who question the recurring nature of these “software acquisitions” in every budget cycle.
The consolidation of N15 billion within just two agencies has raised eyebrows among analysts who fear a repeat of perennial wastages and the potential for “budget padding” under the guise of IT procurement.
Allocation for Technology Upgrades in 2025
Recall, the Federal Ministry of Education was allocated ₦3.88 billion for computer purchases in the 2025 budget, followed by the National Cybercrime Coordination Centre with N2.7 billion.
Others include the defunct Ministry of Sports Development, which received N1.1 billion, the newly formed Ministry of Livestock Development allocated N263.4 million for computers and the Ministry of Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy will spend N525.2 million among many others. Collectively, 20 of these agencies (MDAs) budgetted about N14.3 billion for the purchase of new computers in 2025.
Experts argue that while software is an essential tool for modern governance, the lack of a centralized procurement framework often leads to redundant spending, where different MDAs pay multiple times for similar licenses or platforms that could be shared at a lower cost to the taxpayers. And more often, the practice of budgeting billions of naira annually for software without commensurate improvement in public service delivery.
NITDA Position
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has also raised red flags, noting that IT projects are often difficult for lawmakers to scrutinise during budget defence due to their technical nature.
In 2025, NITDA disclosed that 56% of IT projects executed by Federal Public Institutions failed, largely due to non-compliance with its IT Project Clearance Guidelines.
“These projects fail because they are not cleared to ensure alignment with national standards and priorities. We must stop wasting public funds on fragmented, uncoordinated IT systems that don’t deliver value,” NITDA DG, Kashifu Inuwa, said.
Also, the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) earlier disclosed Nigeria loses about ₦156 billion annually to software importation, a trend it says is being fuelled largely by government agencies.
With the 2026 budget already grappling with a high debt-servicing ratio and a N17.89 trillion deficit, the question remains whether these multi-billion naira “intangible assets” will translate into tangible efficiency for the average Nigerian or merely add to the growing list of high-cost, low-impact government expenditures.
