The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has earmarked N1.05 billion to construct the Amagu-Ekwakoke link bridge in Ebonyi central senatorial district.
The project, captured as a new capital expenditure in the 2025 appropriation Act, was spotted in the approved budget released by the budget office of the federation.
No additional details were provided in the document regarding the contract scope, executing agency, or implementation timeline.
On February 28, the president signed the N54.99 trillion 2025 appropriation bill into law, marking a 99.96 percent increase from the 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion.
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The national assembly approved the bill on February 13, after revisions to Tinubu’s initial budget proposal of N49.7 trillion.
The ARCON is a federal agency primarily responsible for regulating and controlling advertising practices in Nigeria.
The inclusion of a bridge project under its budget has raised questions about inter-agency roles and capital allocations.
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In the 2025 budget, ARCON was allocated a total of N3.85 billion, comprising N2.23 billion for capital expenditure and N1.62 billion for recurrent costs.
An analysis of the budget shows that the Amagu-Ekwakoke link bridge project is the most expensive item under ARCON’s capital vote –accounting for over 50 percent of the agency’s total capital allocation.
On Tuesday, BudgIT, a civic tech non-profit organisation, said it uncovered 11,122 projects valued at N6.93 trillion inserted by the national assembly into the budget.
The organisation, in a statement posted on its social media platform, said the practice, which began as isolated irregularities, has, over the years, evolved into a deeply entrenched culture of exploitation and abuse by top-ranking members of the national assembly.
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