A critical review of the 2026 FG Budget uncovered a troubling pattern of opaque spending.
39 SUVs – N15.13 bn
2,579 Empowerment Projects – N947.7 bn
Total: N962.83 bn
This is more than the combined N960.27bn allocation to seven key Federal Ministries:
Industry, Trade & Investment – N156.8bn
Housing – N145.3bn
Women Affairs – N169.39bn
Justice – N150.7bn
Livestock Development – N177.6bn
Aviation & Aerospace Development – N87.3bn
Petroleum Resources – N73.1bn
Yet, only 70 of the 2,579 empowerment projects have clearly identified implementation locations.
This raises serious accountability concerns:
How can citizens track projects with no stated location?
How can oversight institutions verify implementation?
How can taxpayers know who ultimately benefits from these allocations?
The concerns don’t end there, these projects are spread across 184 implementing agencies, many of which have no statutory mandate to execute empowerment programmes. Leading agencies
@fedccojiriver – 393 projects worth N127.1bn
National Agricultural Development Fund – 6 projects worth N89.5bn
@Fchdkgombe – 216 projects worth N88.1bn
@officialfccib – 94 projects worth N36.9bn
It suffices to state that there is nothing inherently wrong with empowerment programmes! When well-designed and transparently implemented, they can improve livelihoods, create economic opportunities, and support vulnerable Nigerians.
However, experience over the years has shown that many poorly defined empowerment projects have become vehicles for political patronage, rewarding loyalists rather than delivering broad-based benefits to citizens. When projects have no clear location, no transparent beneficiary selection process, and are assigned to agencies without the appropriate mandate, public confidence is eroded, and accountability becomes difficult.
This concern is even more pressing given that the 2026 Budget is projected to be financed with a deficit of about 46%. At a time when government is borrowing heavily to fund public expenditure, every naira should be directed toward investments with clear development outcomes, measurable impact, and value for money, not opaque allocations that citizens cannot effectively track.
A budget should not only allocate resources, it should also inspire public confidence. Every budget item should have a clear purpose, a defined location, an implementing agency with the legal mandate to deliver it, identifiable beneficiaries, and measurable outcomes.
