President Bola Tinubu government’s decision to dole out N8.05 billion for the construction and renovation of mosques for Muslims and churches for Christians across the country has stirred sharp criticisms.
While some see the move as trivializing the socio-economic and security challenges that have enveloped the country, others see it as a political tool to win the people’s support ahead of the 2027 presidential elections.
There are others who believe the government is being insensitive to the yearnings of millions of Nigerians, who are traditional worshippers and those who belong to other faiths, as well as a few atheists.
The first to fire the salvo is the former vice president and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku lamented that while millions of Nigerians were grappling with crushing poverty, the Federal Government was earmarking N8.05 billion for religious related projects.
He made reference to an analysis by a public accountability organisation, Tracka, saying that about N1.91 billion had been allocated to church-related projects and N6.14 billion to mosque-related projects.
Atiku noted that while faith occupies a sacred place in national life, it must never become a sanctuary for opaque budgeting or questionable public expenditure.
“Under the Nigerian law, religious bodies generally operate as Incorporated Trustees with distinct legal identities. If public funds are appropriated for projects involving such bodies, Nigerians have a right to know exactly which churches, which mosques and in which communities those projects will be executed.
“Unlike roads, schools, hospitals and other public infrastructure that are ordinarily identified by location and beneficiary, these allocations reportedly fail to identify many of the specific beneficiary churches and mosques.
“While some line items mention broad locations, the budget does not sufficiently disclose the identities of many beneficiary worship centres, making independent verification difficult and raising legitimate concerns about transparency and accountability.
“Though we tread with profound meticulousness in matters that relate to the Almighty, so as not to attract spiritual jabs from the overly sensitive faithful, it is a desecration of faith to commit public funds in God’s name, while withholding the information that would enable citizens to verify where their money is going.
“The government cannot invoke the sanctity of religion to evade the standards of openness demanded in the management of public resources,” he stated.
He challenged the Tinubu administration to immediately publish the names of every beneficiary institution, every project location, every implementing agency and the legal basis for the allocations, if the appropriations are genuine.
He stressed that anything short of that would reinforce the perception that religion is allegedly being exploited as a convenient cover for diverting public resources.
“The Tinubu administration has crossed the moral red line by dragging the altar and the minbar into the marketplace of opaque budgeting. If these appropriations are genuine, the Presidency should immediately publish the names of every beneficiary institution, every project location, every implementing agency and the legal basis for the allocations.
