The 2026 budget of Nigeria has been making headlines with its large allocation for capital expenditure. A total of N68.32 trillion has been budgeted for aggregate expenditure, out of which N15.8 trillion is for debt service and N32.2 trillion for capital expenditure. According to the Federal Government, the capital allocation accounts for about half of total spending. However, an analysis by Tracka, a civil society organization, has raised concerns over the allocation and execution of projects.
Tracka's analysis found that N962.83 billion was allocated to 39 SUVs and 2,579 empowerment projects. However, only 70 per cent of the 2,579 empowerment projects had clearly identified implementation locations. This lack of transparency and accountability in project planning and execution has raised concerns among stakeholders. Furthermore, Tracka identified projects assigned to ministries, departments, and agencies outside their core mandates.
The National Mathematical Centre, for example, was assigned N210 million for the construction of a Sociology Department at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Similarly, the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute was assigned projects involving traditional rulers' palaces, a market, a village hall, and mosque renovations in different states. These projects are outside the agencies' core mandates, raising questions about planning, institutional responsibility, and the process through which the implementing agency was selected.
The University College Hospital, Ibadan, provides another example of a federal institution being used for projects outside its principal mandate. A project signboard at Arigbajo in Ogun State identifies UCH as the client for the construction of modern classroom blocks in selected rural communities, while Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola is identified as the facilitator. This raises questions about the process through which the project was initiated and how it entered the federal budget.
A federal institution devoted to marine and fisheries education, the Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology, Lagos, was used to deliver classrooms at a secondary school in Ogun State. The college's statutory focus is marine and fisheries education, but it was used to execute a project outside its core responsibility. This has raised concerns about planning, institutional responsibility, and the process through which the implementing agency was selected.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has reported finding duplicated projects, budget insertions, and projects assigned to MDAs without the capacity or mandate to execute them. The commission also noted that duplication of constituency projects in the mandate budgets of MDAs distorts national planning and contributes to poor budget performance.
The emphasis on visible constituency projects creates pressure for elected representatives to secure projects that can be physically identified in their constituencies. Senator Iyabo Obasanjo has argued that a senator's constitutional responsibility should not be confused with that of the Executive. She suggested an alternative approach to infrastructure development, arguing for projects to be planned as part of an integrated system rather than as isolated structures attached to individual constituencies and politicians.
Key points
- The 2026 budget allocates N32.2 trillion for capital expenditure, but analysis reveals concerns over project planning and execution.
- Tracka's analysis found N962.83 billion allocated to 39 SUVs and 2,579 empowerment projects, but only 70 per cent had clearly identified implementation locations.
- The emphasis on visible constituency projects creates pressure for elected representatives to secure projects that can be physically identified in their constituencies.
