Tracka, a civic technology platform that monitors government projects, has disclosed that billions of naira allocated to federal projects were either never executed, abandoned, or delivered fraudulently across Nigeria.
In its report, The People and Government Oversight: Connecting the Dots in Service Delivery, launched in Abuja on Wednesday, Tracka stated that it tracked 2,760 capital projects across 30 states over a 13-month period, covering a total allocation of N2.26 trillion under the 2024 federal budget.
The findings revealed that 28.8 percent of tracked projects, valued at approximately N219 billion, were never executed despite funding being released. These unexecuted projects were primarily located in Benue, Ondo, Kwara, Akwa Ibom, and Sokoto, while abandoned works worth N7.8 billion were concentrated in Taraba, Abia, Adamawa, Ogun, and other states.
Tracka further reported that 57.1 percent of projects suffered fraudulent delivery, with N8.61 billion spent on substandard, diverted, or poorly executed works in Imo, Lagos, Kwara, and Ogun.
The report also examined 16 dam projects across 13 states valued at N432 million, noting that none had been completed. Four projects were abandoned, six were progressing slowly, and six had not started despite funding.
On primary healthcare centres (PHCs), Tracka found that only 26 of 47 PHCs assessed showed improvements, while 12 remained under construction and eight operated in degraded conditions despite allocated funds.
For Niger Delta projects, 29 out of 48 tracked projects across four states were completed, four were ongoing, two were untraceable, and 13 had not started despite released funds totaling billions of naira.
Tracka identified project ambiguity as a major challenge, highlighting that many projects lacked clear locations, making monitoring difficult and accountability nearly impossible.
Speaking at the launch, Osiyemi Joshua, head of Tracka, said, “Weak planning and poor transparency continue to undermine public investments. There is a major problem with vague project descriptions, no handover processes, and agencies implementing projects outside their mandate.”
Oluseun Onigbinde, executive director of BudgIT, added, “Nearly 40 percent of tracked projects were either abandoned or improperly delivered. Nigeria spends heavily but plans poorly. Evaluation is weak, and that is why value for money remains elusive.” He called for stronger citizen engagement, media scrutiny, and legislative oversight to improve accountability in public spending.
