A new report by BudgIT’s civic accountability platform, Tracka, has revealed that five states, Taraba, Abia, Nasarawa, Adamawa and Ogun account for 97.5 per cent of abandoned Federal Government projects in Nigeria, despite full disbursement of funds.
According to the Tracka report, abandoned projects in the five states are valued at N7.8 billion out of a total N8 billion linked to projects where funds had already been released.
Taraba tops the list with 29.90 per cent of abandoned projects, followed by Abia (20 per cent), Nasarawa (10.53 per cent), Adamawa (7.48 per cent) and Ogun (7.14 per cent). Seventeen states recorded no abandoned projects during the tracking period.
BudgIT said the findings underscore persistent accountability and oversight failures in public project execution, rather than a lack of financial resources.
Speaking on the report, Osiyemi Joshua, Head of Tracka at BudgIT, said effective oversight is critical to restoring trust between citizens and government.
“When people see their contributions translated into clinics stocked with medicines, schools equipped with textbooks, and roads that stand the test of time, they are more willing to pay taxes and be less tolerant of corruption. Trust becomes a virtuous circle, driving higher compliance, increased revenue, improved services, and greater legitimacy,” he stated.
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The report notes that while billions of naira are collected, budgets approved, and contracts awarded annually, many projects fail to deliver tangible benefits to citizens due to weak monitoring, poor contractor performance and limited consequences for non-delivery.
Tracka defines oversight as the systematic review and monitoring of public sector programmes and projects to ensure value for money, compliance with laws and policies, and achievement of intended outcomes. The platform identifies legislative scrutiny, independent audits and citizen-led social accountability as the three critical pillars needed to convert public spending into public good.
In Taraba State, which has a population of about 3.6 million, federal allocations rose sharply from N17.86 billion in 2023 to N56.1 billion in 2024 across 298 projects. Of the 96 projects tracked, 46 were completed, 29 abandoned, 12 ongoing, eight not executed and one fraudulently delivered.
Abia State received N96.8 billion for 514 Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and Zonal Intervention Projects (ZIP) projects in the 2024 budget, a 75.34 per cent increase from the previous year. Tracka tracked 75 projects valued at N10.84 billion, finding that 15 were abandoned and eight fraudulently executed, alongside several ongoing and uncommenced projects.
In Adamawa State, allocations rose to N62.5 billion in 2024. Of the 107 projects tracked by Tracka, eight were abandoned, while 44 were ongoing and four were fraudulently delivered, pointing to systemic monitoring challenges.
Ogun State, despite strong revenue mobilisation and receiving N275.7 billion for 932 projects in 2024, recorded five abandoned projects among the 89 tracked, with additional gaps in execution and cases of fraudulent delivery.
BudgIT noted that Tracka began tracking the N10.8 trillion capital component of Nigeria’s N34 trillion 2024 national budget in October 2024, expanding its coverage to 30 states. Tracking activities ended in October 2025 following official claims of near-full budget implementation.
The organisation stressed that transparency alone is insufficient, arguing that citizens must be directly involved in monitoring projects to close the gap between budget allocations and real-world outcomes.
