Financial analyst and public commentator, Kalu Aja, has criticized the Nigerian government’s budgetary priorities following a breakdown of the 2025 federal budget revealing that streetlight projects are expected to cost an average of ₦266.28 million.
Reacting to a post shared by StatiSense on Sunday, which highlighted average federal project costs such as ₦266.28 million for streetlights, ₦212.88 million for boreholes, and ₦210.63 million for empowering traditional rulers, Aja condemned the figures and questioned the rationale behind removing fuel subsidies.
“If the subsidy was removed so we can buy streetlights for N266m, then please return the PMS Subsidy until we have better economic managers,” he posted on his official X account on June 2.
He didn’t hold back in expressing his outrage at the spending trend, describing it as “stealing.” “This right here is stealing. When ASUU strikes, this will be their exhibit #1,” Aja said, referencing potential future protests by the Academic Staff Union of Universities over underfunding of education in contrast to inflated infrastructure costs.
“Watch for who will defend this,” he added, implying that attempts to justify the figures would be disingenuous.
His comment comes amid growing public scrutiny over government expenditures following the removal of petrol subsidy in 2023, a decision that has driven up the cost of living across the country.
The StatiSense data that prompted the backlash showed a disturbing pattern of exorbitant pricing for basic infrastructure, raising concerns about transparency, corruption, and misplaced priorities in the budgeting process.
