{"id":13775,"date":"2026-11-10T03:15:47","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T03:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/10\/abandoned-projects-budget-rollovers-slow-nigerias-2-3trn-infrastructure-ambition-businessday-ng\/"},"modified":"2026-11-10T03:15:47","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T03:15:47","slug":"abandoned-projects-budget-rollovers-slow-nigerias-2-3trn-infrastructure-ambition-businessday-ng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/10\/abandoned-projects-budget-rollovers-slow-nigerias-2-3trn-infrastructure-ambition-businessday-ng\/","title":{"rendered":"Abandoned projects, budget rollovers slow Nigeria\u2019s $2.3trn infrastructure ambition – Businessday NG"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2026Only 52% of 2024 federal capital projects completed<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

Nigeria\u2019s ambition to bridge its estimated $2.3 trillion infrastructure deficit through public and private investment faces growing challenges as thousands of public projects remain unfinished, contractors struggle with unpaid bills, and successive government budgets continue to carry over capital projects.\n<\/p>\n

Jobson Ewalefoh, director-general of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), told an audience that included President Bola Tinubu that Nigeria would require an estimated $2.3 trillion to bridge its infrastructure gap,\u00a0highlighting the contradiction between the country\u2019s infrastructure ambitions and its project delivery record.\n<\/p>\n

He described the scale of the deficit as one of the continent\u2019s most compelling investment opportunities, arguing that public-private partnerships (PPPs) would be critical to mobilising the capital required.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWith over 200 million people, a growing middle class, rich natural endowments, and an enormous infrastructure gap estimated at over $2.3tn, the case for PPPs in Nigeria is not only compelling, but it is also urgent,\u201d Ewalefoh said.<\/p>\n

However, the country\u2019s ability to attract private capital and deliver infrastructure at the scale required is being tested by persistent weaknesses in public project execution, delayed payments, poor supervision and budget implementation.\n<\/p>\n

The concerns have been heightened by findings in the Federal Government\u2019s First Quarter 2026 Budget Implementation Report, which showed that implementation of Ministries, Departments and Agencies\u2019 (MDAs) capital budgets stood at zero as of March 31, following the extension of the 2025 capital budget utilisation period to December 31, 2026.\n<\/p>\n

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The report said no funds were released to MDAs for their 2026 capital expenditure during the quarter because some agencies were still utilising funds released under the previous year\u2019s capital budget.\n<\/p>\n

Although the Federal Government allocated N32.29 trillion to capital expenditure in 2026, the absence of fresh capital releases raises questions about the pace of infrastructure delivery and the government\u2019s ability to complete ongoing projects while funding new ones.<\/p>\n

The development also highlights a wider infrastructure challenge that extends beyond inadequate funding to include abandoned projects, weak supervision, delayed payments to contractors and the failure to translate budgetary allocations into functional public assets.\n<\/p>\n

A report by BudgIT\u2019s project-monitoring platform, Tracka, in February found that only 52 percent of 2,760 federal capital projects monitored across 30 states showed evidence of on-the-ground delivery.\n<\/p>\n

The monitoring exercise covered projects funded under the 2024 federal budget and concluded in October 2025 after two extensions of the budget implementation timeline.\n<\/p>\n

Tracka found that approximately N7.8 billion out of N8 billion disbursed for projects classified as abandoned was associated with projects where funds had already been released.\n<\/p>\n

The organisation also identified N2.19 billion associated with projects that were not executed despite disbursements, while N8.61 billion was linked to projects classified as fraudulently delivered. These included cases of fund diversion, repeated payments for previously completed works and substandard execution.<\/p>\n

A separate analysis of the findings showed that 97.5 percent of abandoned federal projects monitored were concentrated in five states: Taraba, Abia, Nasarawa, Adamawa and Ogun.\n<\/p>\n

Taraba accounted for 29.90 percent, followed by Abia with 20 percent, Nasarawa with 10.53 percent, Adamawa with 7.48 percent and Ogun with 7.14 percent. Together, the states accounted for N7.8 billion out of the N8 billion associated with abandoned projects where funds had been released.\n<\/p>\n

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Osiyemi Joshua, head of Tracka at BudgIT, said the findings suggested that the problem was no longer simply about inadequate funding.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is no longer a funding problem,\u201d he said, arguing that projects had received funding without delivering the expected infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Tracka monitored 16 dam projects across 13 states, involving N432 million in disbursements. It found that only four had been completed, while four were abandoned and six had not commenced despite funding. The report also highlighted problems with primary healthcare centres and projects in the Niger Delta, where some facilities remained incomplete or could not be traced to their stated locations.\n<\/p>\n

Contractors lose properties over unpaid bills\n<\/p>\n

The failure to translate public spending into completed infrastructure is also taking a toll on indigenous contractors, many of whom say delayed payments for government projects are pushing their businesses towards collapse.\n<\/p>\n

Rotimi Raheem, spokesperson of the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN), said many contractors had borrowed heavily from banks and other financial institutions to execute government projects but were struggling to repay their loans because outstanding contract sums dating back to 2024 remained unpaid.\n<\/p>\n

He said some contractors had lost properties pledged as collateral, while others were facing serious health and financial difficulties.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of our members are losing their houses because, while taking loans, you know people will get collateral, and people are not able to pay. For example, if they are not paid up from 2024 up to date, the bank will not be able to wait for your money. So some of our members are losing their properties,\u201d Raheem said.\n<\/p>\n

Beyond the financial difficulties confronting business owners, he said the payment crisis had triggered job losses across the construction sector, as contractors could no longer sustain their workforce without fresh funds.\n<\/p>\n

According to him, contractors account for about 30 percent of Nigeria\u2019s workforce, making the consequences of delayed government payments particularly severe for employment.\n<\/p>\n

Raheem said contractors had been forced to disengage workers, including artisans and other informal labourers who depend on construction activities for their livelihoods. He warned that the loss of employment could compound Nigeria\u2019s security challenges by leaving more people vulnerable to criminal activities.\n<\/p>\n

He also cited the experience of a former employee at his block-making business who, according to information he received, had allegedly joined a criminal group after losing his source of livelihood, although he said he could not independently confirm the report.<\/p>\n

Although some payments had been made following previous protests over outstanding obligations, Raheem said the amounts released remained inadequate compared with the sums owed.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you can imagine a scenario whereby we have a bill of one billion, and they are paying us 140 million. You see that there is a lot of shortfall,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

He identified the transfer of payment responsibilities from relevant ministries and agencies to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation as a major source of the difficulties contractors now encounter.\n<\/p>\n

According to him, the previous arrangement, under which ministries and agencies processed payments directly, was more predictable and allowed contractors to deal with the institutions responsible for their projects.\n<\/p>\n

The centralised arrangement, he said, had made it difficult for contractors to establish when outstanding payments would be released, leaving businesses unable to plan their finances, service loans or make commitments to workers and suppliers.<\/p>\n

Projects reappear in successive budgets\n<\/p>\n

While contractors struggle to recover money invested in government projects, successive federal budgets show that major infrastructure projects continue to receive fresh allocations years after their initial funding.\n<\/p>\n

An analysis of the 2025 approved budget and the 2026 Appropriation Act shows that at least eight major federal road projects funded in 2025 have reappeared in the 2026 budget under the same Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) project codes.\n<\/p>\n

The selected projects, covering major highways in the North-West, North-East, South-East and North-Central regions, have a combined allocation of N211.4 billion in the 2026 budget, compared with N181 billion in 2025.\n<\/p>\n

The N30.4 billion increase represents a rise of about 16.8 percent, although the allocations do not establish how much the government actually released or spent on the projects in the previous year.<\/p>\n

One project raising questions about the relationship between budgetary allocations and physical completion is the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, Section III, covering the Enugu-Lokpanta stretch.\n<\/p>\n

The Federal Government earmarked N21.9 billion for the project in the 2026 Appropriation Act, despite previous declarations by Works Minister David Umahi that the 61-kilometre stretch had been completed.\n<\/p>\n

The project, listed under the Federal Ministry of Works as an ongoing capital project, received N17 billion in the 2025 approved budget, bringing its allocations across the two fiscal years to N38.9 billion.\n<\/p>\n

In August 2025, the Federal Government said the Enugu-bound section of the 61-kilometre dual carriageway had been completed, while work on the remaining stretch was ongoing. In January 2026, Umahi said the 61-kilometre first section from Enugu to Lokpanta had been fully completed.\n<\/p>\n

Despite the completion claim, the 2026 Appropriation Act still classifies the project as ongoing and provides another N21.9 billion for its execution.<\/p>\n

Another major road project appearing in both budgets is the Kano-Katsina dual carriageway, which has separate allocations for Phases I and II.\n<\/p>\n

Phase II received N75 billion in the 2025 budget and N65 billion in the 2026 Act, while Phase I received N34 billion and N35.8 billion, respectively. The two phases account for N100.8 billion in the 2026 budget, compared with N109 billion in the previous year\u2019s appropriation.\n<\/p>\n

The 157-kilometre road project was reported to be about 27 percent complete in January 2026, with unresolved compensation claims involving farmlands and residential properties identified as a major constraint to its delivery.\n<\/p>\n

The disclosure was made during an inspection of the project in Katsina State by Abdullahi Tanko-Yakasai, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement for the North-West.\n<\/p>\n

The Federal Ministry of Works also retained two sections of the Kano-Maiduguri Road in the 2026 budget. Section I, covering Kano-Wudil-Shuarin, received N19 billion in 2025 and N23.3 billion in 2026, while Section V, covering Damaturu-Maiduguri in Borno State, rose from N10 billion to N17 billion.<\/p>\n

In July 2026, Abdulsalam Dayyabu-Kurfi, Federal Controller of Works in Kano, said construction had commenced on Section I of the Kano-Maiduguri Road, covering Kano to Shuwarin, while work remained ongoing on the wider corridor.\n<\/p>\n

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The Zuba-Abaji section of the Abuja-Lokoja Road recorded one of the largest increases among the selected projects, rising from N11 billion in 2025 to N32.9 billion in 2026.\n<\/p>\n

Other recurring projects include the Zaria-Hunkuyi-Katsina border-Dabai-Kafur-Malumfashi-Dayi-Gidan Mutun Daya Road, Section III, which rose from N8 billion to N10.6 billion, and the remaining sections of the Gitto contract on Section IV of the Abuja-Lokoja Road, which declined from N7 billion to N4.9 billion.\n<\/p>\n

The repeated allocations come against the background of the Federal Government\u2019s decision to carry over 70 percent of the 2025 capital budget into the 2026 fiscal year.<\/p>\n

The 2026 Abridged Budget Call Circular issued by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning directed ministries, departments and agencies to upload 70 percent of their 2025 capital allocations for continuation in 2026.\n<\/p>\n

The government said the decision was informed by revenue constraints and the need to prioritise ongoing projects rather than introduce new capital projects.\n<\/p>\n

However, the First Quarter 2026 Budget Implementation Report showed that no capital funds had been released to MDAs under the 2026 budget as of March 31, as the implementation period for the 2025 capital budget had been extended.\n<\/p>\n

The development raises questions about the pace of execution of inherited projects and the extent to which the rollover arrangement is translating into completed infrastructure, particularly as several of the selected road projects received higher allocations in 2026 than in 2025.\n<\/p>\n

Senators question unpaid contractors, budget implementation<\/p>\n

The concerns over delayed payments and poor capital budget implementation have also featured in legislative scrutiny of the Federal Government\u2019s revenue management, with senators questioning why contractors remain unpaid despite claims of improved government revenue.\n<\/p>\n

During a Senate engagement with Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, the Accountant-General of the Federation, lawmakers expressed frustration over what they described as poor implementation of the 2024 and 2025 budgets, including zero capital allocations to several MDAs, statutory bodies and key institutions.\n<\/p>\n

Danjuma Goje, senator representing Gombe Central, said contractors were increasingly approaching lawmakers for intervention over payments for executed projects.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cHere at the National Assembly, we have never seen contractors bombarding us on a weekly basis for intervention on non-payment of executed contracts,\u201d Goje said.\n<\/p>\n

He questioned the government\u2019s revenue position following the removal of the petrol subsidy and the harmonisation of the foreign exchange market, arguing that the expected improvement in government finances had not translated into timely payments for contractors or adequate capital releases.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are contractors owed? And why was there zero allocation for capital votes of most of the MDAs in 2025?\u201d he asked.\n<\/p>\n

Muntari Dandutse, senator representing Katsina South, also raised concerns over reports that revenue agencies generated N28 trillion while contractors remained unpaid.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cEven the introduced Centralised Payment System is not helping matters at all. The system is compromised and seriously affecting the integrity of the government,\u201d Dandutse said.\n<\/p>\n

The senators\u2019 concerns mirror those of contractors, who have called for a review of the centralised payment arrangement and clearer timelines for settling outstanding obligations.\n<\/p>\n

Nigeria\u2019s estimated $2.3 trillion infrastructure deficit presents a significant opportunity for private investment, as the ICRC has argued. However, the country\u2019s ability to mobilise the required capital for consecutive budget years will slow down the country\u2019s infrastructural delivery.<\/p>\n

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Businessday NG<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2026Only 52% of 2024 federal capital projects completed Nigeria\u2019s ambition to bridge its estimated $2.3 trillion infrastructure deficit through public and private investment faces growing challenges as thousands of public… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}