Budgit, a civic technology group, has asked the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to look into the N2.4 billion that was spent on government projects from the 2023 budget but never got done.

The organisation said it discovered payments totalling N2.4 billion to seventeen contractors for fifteen projects across nine states in the federation, but no contractor has started work on these sites. Tracka, its service delivery promotion platform, enabled citizens to collaborate, track, and provide feedback on public projects in their communities.

Ayo Ladipo, the head of Tracka, signed a statement highlighting some of the abandoned projects in the report “Achieving National Development through Efficient Service Delivery” to address the lack of accountability and transparency in project execution in Nigeria, where seventeen contractors were paid for the projects but failed to show up for the implementation. 

In the statement, she said the payments and their details include “The payment of N401 million to Mainstream Contractors in December 2023 under the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing for the Rehabilitation of Welcome-Nasarawa-Farewell from Nasarawa, linking the North and Southern part of Nigeria in Nasarawa LGA, Nasarawa State; N153 million 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 at Aniocha/ Oshimili in Delta; and N88 million to A3 Interbiz Link Service Limited in December 2023 under the Pharmacist Council of Nigeria for the Construction and Equipping of PHC Centre in Adedeji Community, Ikirun, Osun State.

The report further notes that “Tracka monitored 1,404 projects worth N282.5 billion across twenty-five states. The findings revealed that 720 projects (51%) were completed, 332 projects (24%) were ongoing, 129 projects (9%) were either abandoned or fraudulently executed, and 223 projects (16%) were not executed.

“Despite the calls for increased funding for capital expenditures by the federal government and sub-nationals, our tracking exercise has shown that capital projects are the largest conduits of embezzlement and misappropriation,” said Gabriel Okeowo, the country director of BudgIt, who expressed concern over the failure to carry out important public projects despite the disbursement of funds.

“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. We urge the current administration and anti-corruption agencies to close these loopholes, hold defaulters accountable, and prevent further financial leakages. Unchecked, unscrupulous actors will continue to syphon off Nigeria’s scarce resources at the expense of national development, he lamented.