Tracka, BudgIT’s service delivery promotion platform, has revealed N732.5 billion worth of empowerment projects in the 2024 federal government capital and constituency projects, a figure significantly higher than the N646.5 billion allocated to health projects. This revelation has raised concerns about the government’s budget priorities, especially given Nigeria’s high child mortality rate.
According to a statement from Tracka, the Nigerian government has not prioritized critical emergencies in the health sector despite the country having the second-highest child mortality rate in the world. The organization highlighted that empowerment projects are often vague, challenging to track, and susceptible to misuse as they are used to funnel public resources to party loyalists.
Tracka noted that the 2024 federal budget includes 4,440 empowerment projects, a significant increase from previous years. These projects, traditionally limited to constituency projects, have increasingly been included in capital projects through insertions by the National Assembly. The statement mentioned that the National Assembly inserted 7,447 projects valued at N2.24 trillion in the 2024 budget, exacerbating the nation’s infrastructure gap and budget deficits.
Further analysis by Tracka revealed that over 2,558 projects worth N624 billion were allocated to agencies outside their mandate. For instance, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) was allocated N5 billion for the procurement and distribution of official vehicles to selected traditional rulers, and the Nigeria Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NiOMR) was allocated N2.32 billion to construct a 3.5km road.
Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s Country Director, expressed concern over this trend, stating that assigning projects to agencies outside their mandate undermines monitoring, evaluation, and sustainability. These agencies often lack the expertise and personnel to ensure quality service delivery, leading to under-delivery and waste of taxpayers’ money.
Ayomide Ladipo, Head of Tracka, called on anti-graft agencies to investigate these budget anomalies to prevent diversion, misappropriation, and embezzlement of public funds. Tracka also urged elected representatives and government agencies to provide timely updates to the public and ensure the quality implementation of projects to maximize the benefits of public funds for Nigerians.