ABUJA, Nigeria — A new report by BudgIT’s project tracking platform, Tracka, has uncovered that over N2.4 billion was paid to seventeen contractors for fifteen projects across nine states, yet no work has begun on the project sites.
The findings, released in Tracka’s 2023/2024 report, “Achieving National Development through Efficient Service Delivery,” raise serious concerns about financial mismanagement and lack of oversight in Nigeria’s public sector.
The report, launched in Abuja on January 30, details multiple projects where funds were disbursed but no contractors mobilised to execute the work. Among them:
- N401 million was paid in December 2023 to Mainstream Contractors under the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing for the rehabilitation of Welcome-Nasarawa-Farewell road, a major link between the North and South in Nasarawa LGA, Nasarawa State.
- N153 million was paid to Icent Light Ltd between August and November 2023 under the National Institute for Construction Technology, Uromi, for the fencing, landscaping, and completion of Onicha-Uku Town Hall and Event Centre in Delta State.
- N88 million was paid to A3 Interbiz Link Service Limited in December 2023 under the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria for the construction and equipping of a Primary Healthcare Centre in Adedeji Community, Ikirun, Osun State.
Unfinished and Abandoned Projects
The Tracka report monitored 1,404 projects valued at N282.5 billion across twenty-five states, revealing a troubling pattern in project execution.
- 720 projects (51%) were completed.
- 332 projects (24%) were ongoing.
- 129 projects (9%) were either abandoned or executed fraudulently.
- 223 projects (16%) were not executed at all.
The report ranked government agencies based on their project implementation rates. The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) led with a 78% completion rate, followed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture (68%) and the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency (65%).
However, the Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority (20%) and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs (16%) ranked among the lowest, highlighting inefficiencies in project execution.
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Call for Accountability
Expressing concern over the mismanagement of public funds, BudgIT’s Country Director, Gabriel Okeowo, stated:
“Despite the clamour for increased allocations to capital expenditure by the Federal Government and sub-nationals, our tracking exercise has revealed that capital projects are the largest conduits of embezzlement and misappropriation. Poor oversight and collusion between MDAs and contractors undermine project execution, leading to outright abandonment. Given Nigeria’s pressing infrastructure deficits, public project execution must be seriously treated.”
He urged the current administration and anti-corruption agencies to investigate these irregularities, stating:
“We urge the current administration and anti-corruption agencies to close these loopholes, hold defaulters accountable, and prevent further financial leakages. If left unchecked, Nigeria’s scarce resources will continue to be siphoned off by unscrupulous actors at the expense of national development.”
Tracka has called on agencies such as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate these discrepancies and prosecute contractors who fail to execute awarded projects.
The organisation also urged elected representatives to take action in ensuring these abandoned projects are completed, preventing further waste of public funds and ensuring Nigerians benefit from infrastructure and development projects as intended.
