Investigation: N219bn worth of federal projects in 2024 budget not executed despite fund releases

A NEW civic accountability report has revealed major gaps between government spending and real service delivery across Nigeria, with hundreds of federally funded projects either abandoned, poorly delivered, or never started, even though money was released for them.

The findings are contained in a report by Tracka, a civic technology platform that monitors public projects and budget implementation. The report, titled ‘The People and Government Oversight: Connecting the Dots in Service Delivery,’ was formally launched in Abuja on Wednesday. It paints a troubling picture of how public resources continue to be wasted through weak planning, limited transparency, and poor supervision.

According to Tracka, the organisation tracked 2,760 capital projects contained in the 2024 federal budget across 30 states of the federation over a 13-month period. These projects carried a combined allocation of N2.26 trillion. However, a significant portion of them failed to translate into visible development on the ground.

From the total number of projects reviewed, 28.8 percent, valued at about N219 billion, were never executed, even though funds had already been released by the federal government. Tracka said these unexecuted projects cut across several regions of the country, with cases found in states such as Benue, Ondo, Kwara, Akwa Ibom, and Sokoto.

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Beyond projects that never commenced, the report also highlighted a disturbing pattern of abandoned works. Tracka identified a heavy concentration of such projects, valued at N7.8 billion, in Taraba, Abia, Adamawa, Ogun and one other state. Many of these sites showed little or no activity, despite the fact that budgetary provisions had already been made and disbursed.

The organisation further disclosed that more than half of the projects it tracked were affected by fraudulent delivery. Specifically, 57.1 percent of the projects were found to be substandard, diverted, or executed in a way that did not meet basic requirements. Tracka estimated that N8.61 billion was spent on such defective projects in states including Imo, Lagos, Kwara and Ogun.

In addition to general project tracking, Tracka carried out special investigations into key sectors. One of these focused on dam projects, following the 12 collapses of Nigeria’s national electricity grid recorded in 2024. The group said it monitored 16 dam projects across 13 states, with a total value of N432 million. None of these projects had been completed. Four were abandoned, six were progressing at a very slow pace, while another six had not even started, despite the release of funds.

The report also examined the state of primary healthcare centres (PHCs) nationwide. Out of 47 PHCs assessed, only 26 showed any meaningful improvement. Twelve facilities were still under construction, while eight were operating in severely degraded conditions, with crumbling structures and inadequate medical supplies, even though funds had been allocated for their rehabilitation.

In the Niger Delta region, Tracka tracked 48 projects spread across four states. Of these, 29 were completed and had positively impacted local communities. Four projects were ongoing, while two could not be traced due to vague or unclear project descriptions. Another 13 projects had not started at all, despite the release of funds running into billions of naira.

Tracka identified project ambiguity as one of the biggest barriers to accountability. The organisation said many projects lacked clear descriptions and locations, making it difficult for citizens and monitors to verify their existence or track progress. This problem, it noted, allows contractors and public officials to exploit loopholes and avoid responsibility.

The report also pointed to a persistent mismatch between the amount of money released by the government and the actual quality of work delivered. In many cases, large sums were disbursed, yet little or no evidence of execution could be found on the ground.

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Another major concern raised in the report was the misuse of solar-related projects. Tracka said 206 out of 1,120 projects tracked were solar-based. However, only 33 had clearly defined locations. Several of these solar projects were also assigned to agencies outside their official mandates, further complicating monitoring and oversight.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Tracka’s head, Mr Osiyemi Joshua, said weak planning systems and poor transparency continue to undermine public investments. He stressed that without stronger oversight mechanisms and clearer project information, government spending will keep failing to translate into meaningful development for citizens.