At least N3.50tn worth of new projects have been identified in the proposed 2026 budget, according to an analysis by The PUNCH.

This development comes despite earlier budget preparation guidelines directing Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to roll over 70 per cent of their 2025 capital allocations into the 2026 fiscal year and to refrain from introducing new capital projects.

Data extracted from the 2026 Appropriation Bill indicate that new project entries across MDAs amount to N844.49bn. When Service Wide Votes are included, the total value of new projects rises to N3.50tn.

Relative to the proposed capital expenditure of N23.21tn for 2026, the N3.50tn allocated to new projects represents 15.09 per cent of the total capital budget.

The Service Wide Votes component alone accounts for N2.66tn of the new project portfolio, highlighting that the largest allocations are concentrated outside the conventional ministerial capital expenditure lines.

In December 2025, The PUNCH reported that the Federal Government directed MDAs to carry over 70 per cent of their 2025 capital budget into the 2026 fiscal year. The move was aimed at prioritising the completion of ongoing projects and reducing spending pressures amid weak government revenues.

The directive was contained in the 2026 Abridged Budget Call Circular issued by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and circulated to ministers, service chiefs, heads of agencies, and senior government officials in Abuja.

According to the circular, “MDAs are to upload 70 per cent of their 2025 FGN Budget to continue in FY2026. All such rollover and uploads MUST be in line with the immediate needs of the country as well as the government’s development priorities that align with the policy direction of the new administration, which hinges on National Security, the Economy, Education, Health, Agriculture, Infrastructure, Power & Energy, as well as social safety nets, women & youth empowerment.”

The circular further stated that MDAs were expected to continue with allocations already approved in the 2025 budget rather than proposing fresh projects. It added that all expenditures would be subjected to scrutiny to ensure that only essential spending was allowed and that value for money was achieved.

However, findings by The PUNCH show that at least 82 MDAs included one or more fresh capital or programme items in the proposed budget.

Across these MDAs, more than 400 new project lines were identified, covering multibillion-naira infrastructure and health projects as well as smaller constituency-level interventions such as borehole construction, training programmes, and the supply of equipment.

An examination of the Service Wide Votes section reveals 18 new projects in the 2026 Appropriation Bill, with a significant portion of the new project portfolio tied to financing schemes, security-related spending, liabilities, and centrally managed initiatives.

The largest single line item under the new projects is a N1.70tn provision for outstanding contractors’ liabilities for 2024. This allocation alone represents about 48.55 per cent of the N3.50tn total new project provision, including Service Wide Votes.

The bill also includes three separate provisions of N100bn each under Service Wide Votes for the Nigeria Development Finance Corporation, the Economic Transformation Finance Programme, and the Nigeria Growth Investment Fund, bringing the combined allocation for these funding lines to N300bn.

Additional Service Wide Votes entries include N20bn for the capitalisation of INFRACO, a N30bn special operations fund for the Department of State Services, and N110.31bn for the Nigerian Air Force to settle outstanding obligations on six T-129 ATAK helicopters and three Mi-35 helicopters. Another major allocation is N283.85bn for presidential air fleet logistics and management, including the operation of the National Forest Guard.

The Service Wide Votes section also contains a recurrent take-off grant of N41.12bn for new MDAs and a capital take-off grant of N19.50bn for 12 newly created MDAs, most of which are in the health and education sectors. Other provisions include pension increases arising from consequential adjustments and the payment of gratuities to civil servants.

At the MDA level, the five institutions with the highest value of new projects are the Budget Office of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Transport headquarters, the National Library of Nigeria, the National Blood Service Commission, and the Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority.

The Budget Office of the Federation recorded the highest MDA-level new project allocation at N375bn. This is earmarked for a multilateral or bilateral tied loan for the Power Sector Recovery Operation under additional financing arrangements. The single allocation exceeds the combined new project provisions of most other MDAs.

The N375bn allocation represents about 44.41 per cent of the total N844.49bn new projects at the MDA level and about 10.71 per cent of the overall N3.50tn new project total, including Service Wide Votes.

The Federal Ministry of Transport headquarters has N210.53bn in new projects. This comprises N68.50bn for consultancy services for the Lekki–Ijebu Ode–Ore–Kajola railway and coastal railway, as well as the Badagry–Apapa–Tin Can corridor. Another N142.03bn is allocated for the construction of six bus terminals and transportation facilities across the six geopolitical zones under the national public transportation programme.

Together, the ministry’s two new project entries account for about 24.93 per cent of the MDA-level new projects and about 6.01 per cent of the total new project allocation, including Service Wide Votes.

The National Library of Nigeria has a new project allocation of N24bn for structural renovation and space upgrades of the national library across the six geopolitical zones. This represents the third-largest MDA-level new project and accounts for about 2.84 per cent of total MDA new projects.

The National Blood Service Commission has N15bn allocated to new projects. These include N10bn for the construction and equipping of a national blood service centre and strategic national blood reserve in Abuja, and N5bn for the reconstruction or rehabilitation of NBSC state offices. The total accounts for about 1.78 per cent of MDA-level new projects.

The Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority has N9.14bn in new projects. These include N2bn for the construction of solar mini-grids in selected catchment areas, N1bn for all-in-one solar street lights for security purposes, N3bn for the construction of rural roads, and N140m for the supply of water pumps for irrigation to Isa and Sabon Birni Federal Constituency.

Other projects under the authority include N1bn for the supply of three-inch solar-powered water pumping machines to farmers in Kebbi State, N1bn for small-town water supply systems with reticulation, and N1bn for empowerment materials to support youth livelihoods. This portfolio represents about 1.08 per cent of total MDA new projects.

Beyond the top five MDAs, the next category includes health and social sector institutions with new project values ranging from about N5bn to N6.22bn, as well as several teaching hospitals and specialist medical centres.

The PUNCH also observed that N5.85bn has been allocated for new vehicle purchases. This includes N1.5bn for vehicles at the Federal University of Technology, Iyin Ekiti, N600m at the Federal University of Agriculture, Daura, and N500m at Jos University Teaching Hospital.

Allocations for furnishing and office equipment total N2.93bn. Major drivers include N1.18bn for two medical complexes at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, N435m for the Air Power Centre of Excellence, and N250m for a Pharmacy Council zonal office.

Renovation and refurbishment projects amount to N29.88bn, largely driven by the N24bn national library upgrade and N5bn allocated for blood service offices. Residential and staff accommodation projects total N25.29bn, anchored by N16.48bn for Defence Headquarters facilities and N7bn for Department of State Services housing.

The PUNCH noted that this is not the first instance in which the Federal Government attempted to restrict the inclusion of new projects in the national budget.

In December 2024, The PUNCH reported that the Federal Government instructed MDAs to exclude new projects from their 2025 budget submissions unless such projects were directly linked to the completion of ongoing initiatives, as stated in the 2024 Budget Call Circular.

The 2024 Budget Call Circular clearly stipulated that no new projects would be admitted into the 2025 capital budget unless MDAs demonstrated that sufficient resources had been allocated to complete ongoing projects.

The document stated, “Again, the thrust of the FGN’s capital expenditure programme in 2025 will be the completion of as many cardinal ongoing projects as possible, rather than starting new projects. Thus, MDAs are hereby advised that new projects will not be admitted into the capital budget for 2025 unless adequate provision has been made for the completion/work programme of all ongoing projects.”

The circular further instructed MDAs to thoroughly scrutinise and justify their proposed projects and programmes to ensure alignment with the country’s immediate needs and the government’s core development priorities.

These priorities include national security, the economy, education, health, agriculture, infrastructure, power and energy, as well as social safety nets with emphasis on women and youth empowerment.

Despite these directives, findings suggest that MDAs frequently disregard the restrictions without effective scrutiny from the Budget Office of the Federation or the National Assembly.

The National President of the Nigerian Economic Society, Professor Adeola Adenikinju, previously argued that delayed budget presentation undermines proper legislative scrutiny.

He said, “The 2026 budget should have been in the National Assembly for consultation so that we can keep to this January 1st thing. That makes our fiscal system predictable.”

Adenikinju added that the rush to pass budgets “does not allow for proper analysis” and prevents MDAs from adequately defending their proposals, warning that the practice fosters a disorganised fiscal environment.

A development economist and Chief Executive of CSA Advisory, Dr Aliyu Ilias, told The PUNCH that the Federal Government suffers from “fiscal discipline problems.”

He said government performance on fiscal and budget discipline “for now has not done well” and suggested that the lapses were deliberate. “I am sure I want to say that it is intentional because you could have seen that this is becoming an error,” he said.

Ilias also blamed the National Assembly for failing in its oversight role, accusing the legislature of tolerating inefficiencies.

He said, “The National Assembly is also failing, failing in the sense that it is their own responsibility to make sure that those things do not really fly.”