…Ramadan feeding takes N12.4bn
…Women, Youth empowerment totals N N43.54bn
…Experts query accountability of projects
An analysis of a consolidated ZIP/ZIF master project sheet for the 2026 budget cycle shows that the Federal Government has earmarked a total of N198.53 billion for 9,230 intervention projects nationwide, spanning social welfare, infrastructure rehabilitation, agriculture, health, education, and community development.
The dataset, which aggregates projects coded under intervention and recovery programmes, indicates that the allocation is not tied to a single initiative but dispersed across thousands of small-ticket projects, most of them valued between N5 million and N27 million. Collectively, these projects account for the full N198.53 billion allocation.
A sectoral review shows that a significant portion of the funding is directed at social intervention programmes, including large-scale Ramadan feeding initiatives, which together account for over N12.4 billion across multiple local government areas.
Community-based development projects, covering small infrastructure works and social amenities within specific federal constituencies, also feature prominently, with some constituencies accounting for over N2 billion in combined allocations.
Further analysis of the 2026 ZIP/ZIF master project sheet shows that health-related emergency interventions attracted N602.71 million, covering 20 projects largely focused on responses to disease outbreaks such as cholera.
Education and research infrastructure projects, ranging from the rehabilitation of laboratories and student hostels to the renovation of dining halls, research fellows’ residences, and staff quarters, were allocated a combined N3.71 billion across 154 projects in public institutions.
Beyond health and education, intervention spending is heavily weighted toward social and economic programmes.
Women and youth empowerment initiatives account for N43.54 billion spread across 1,943 projects, while skills acquisition and vocational training schemes received N27.83 billion for 1,191 projects, reflecting a strong emphasis on employment, livelihoods, and capacity building.
In the agricultural sector, animal husbandry and related farming projects were allocated N15.34 billion across 808 projects, covering livestock support, rehabilitation of animal enclosures, and other agriculture-focused interventions.
Infrastructure-related spending dominates the dataset. The rehabilitation and construction of public facilities, including training centres and community halls, attracted the single largest cumulative allocation of N48.45 billion across 2,481 projects.
Renewable energy interventions, particularly the installation of solar-powered streetlights, also feature prominently, with 2,047 projects collectively valued at N34.0 billion.
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Taken together, the data illustrate how the N198.53 billion earmarked for 9,230 intervention projects in the 2026 budget is dispersed across thousands of relatively small-value projects, with social empowerment, infrastructure rehabilitation, and energy access emerging as the dominant spending priorities.
However, experts have raised concerns about the scale, structure, and accountability of the allocations.
Tunde Ajayi, a public finance analyst, said the sheer scale and fragmentation of the projects raise red flags.
“Allocating nearly N200 billion across more than 9,000 micro-projects makes effective oversight extremely difficult,” Ajayi said.
“While constituency projects are meant to address local needs, this level of fragmentation often weakens accountability and creates opportunities for duplication, abandoned projects, and inflated costs.”
He noted that many of the projects fall within expenditure bands that historically suffer the highest implementation failures.
“Projects in the N5 million to N30 million range are the hardest to track because they are numerous and scattered. Without a transparent performance framework, it is difficult to assess real impact,” he said.
Ajayi added that projects parked under service-wide or non-MDA-specific capital items fall into an accountability grey zone.
“Citizens cannot easily identify who is responsible when projects fail or are abandoned,” he said, warning that women and youth empowerment programmes, despite receiving large allocations, are especially vulnerable to abuse.
“Empowerment projects are among the most abused because outputs are difficult to verify. Distribution of items or short trainings rarely translates into sustainable economic outcomes.”
Similarly, Charles Sani, an economist, said the scale and structure of constituency-linked intervention spending in the 2026 budget reinforce long-standing concerns that such projects have become a form of sub-optimal public expenditure and a political bargaining tool between the executive and the legislature.
“Constituency projects may be well intentioned,” Sani said, “but the way they are currently implemented raises serious questions about effectiveness, transparency, and value for money.”
He noted that the dispersal of N198.53 billion across 9,230 mostly small-ticket projects mirrors a pattern that prioritises political accommodation over development planning, adding that the figures could rise further as the National Assembly concludes the budget defence process.
“I am sure the amount will increase after it passes through the National Assembly. I wouldn’t even be shocked if the final figure is higher than this,” he said.
“Yet, many of the projects captured in the 2025 budget have still not been implemented.”
Sani stressed that the ZIP/ZIF structure weakens accountability.
“It is the job of the legislature to appropriate and the executive to execute. Once federal resources are pushed directly into localised projects tied to individual constituencies, without routing them through accountable structures like local governments or a dedicated grassroots development agency, you create an oversight vacuum,” he said.
“When projects are scattered, repeatedly renamed, and annually recycled, measurement becomes impossible. Anything you cannot measure or properly track becomes economic wastage.”
He pointed to repeated project entries in successive budgets as evidence of inefficiency.
“You see the same road, the same training centre, the same empowerment scheme appearing year after year. Funds are released, but the communities barely feel the impact,” he said.
According to him, empowerment projects that dominate the 2026 intervention allocations are particularly prone to abuse.
“Instead of structured investments that create jobs and grow local economies, you see token interventions; sewing machines, tricycles, wheelbarrows with no sustainability plan. That does not solve unemployment or drive growth,” Sani said.
He maintained that constituency projects could still play a developmental role if redesigned.
“If properly structured, these funds could support cottage industries, agro-processing hubs, or local value chains that contribute to GDP and employment,” he said.
“But that would require political will, transparency, and a willingness to dismantle patronage.”
Faith Nwadishi, Executive Director of the Centre for Transparency Advocacy, also warned that the growing volume of intervention projects in the 2026 budget raises concerns about misuse.
“When you see thousands of small projects packed into the budget, the question is whether the goal is development or election financing,” she said.
Nwadishi said reports by oversight bodies such as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) consistently show poor execution, abandoned projects, and diversion of funds.
“Monitoring efforts often reveal that projects are either not executed, not completed, or not fit for purpose,” she said.
She called for clearer institutional responsibility and stronger scrutiny, including from the National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO).
“If constituency projects remain part of the budget, there must be full disclosure, needs assessments, geo-tagging, and utilisation reports,” Nwadishi said. “Otherwise, they will continue to weaken capital spending and undermine public trust.”
She concluded that without reform, the 2026 intervention allocations risk repeating the failures of previous budget cycles.
“You cannot fix structural underdevelopment with fragmented, politically negotiated projects,” she said. “What Nigeria needs is planning, accountability, and citizens who understand what governance is supposed to deliver not tokenism.”
