The Acting Comptroller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS),Sylvester Nwakuche Ndidi, has presented the service’s proposed ₦183.6 billion budget for 2025 during a session with the House Committee on Reformatory Institutions. The budget allocation includes ₦127 billion for personnel costs, ₦45.8 billion for overheads, and ₦13.4 billion for capital expenditures.

According to the CG, A significant portion of the budget, ₦38 billion, is earmarked for feeding the country’s 91,000 inmates, with each costing ₦1,125 daily. Ndidi expressed concerns over a reduction in capital expenditure, which was cut by ₦762 million, and called for an additional ₦70.4 billion to modernize custodial facilities, improve security, and enhance the digitalization of operations.

The Comptroller General of the Service who further disclosed that the recruitment of five thousand personnel has been approved by President Bola Tinubu, appealed to the committee led by Rep. Chinedu Ogah to assist the Service by upscaling the proposed budgetary allocation. Chairman of the House Committee on Reformatory institutions Hon Chinedu Ogah lamented on the poor state of the Correctional centers across the federation despite the yearly budgetary allocations.

The committee while expressing dissatisfaction over the 2024 budget performance of the Service, also directed it to submit relevant documents of interventions received from external bodies, alongside projects implemented with up-to-date transactions for further scrutiny.