Tracka, BudgIT’s service delivery promotion platform that enables citizens to collaborate, track, and provide feedback on public projects in their communities, has disclosed that N732.5 billion in empowerment projects in the 2024 federal government capital and constituency projects is more than the N646.5 billion allocated to health projects, according to Thisday.
According to a statement from the organization, even though Nigeria had the second-highest child mortality rate in the world in 2023, “has shown no signs of tackling these critical emergencies head-on, as the allocations in the 2024 budget do not reflect priority in the health sector.”
According to Tracka, empowerment projects “are vague and challenging to track due to their nature.” It also stated, “They are also used as a funnel to transfer public resources to party loyalists, resulting in the misuse of public funds.”
“In the 2024 federal government budget, there are 4,440 empowerment projects. Previously, empowerment projects were limited to constituency projects, but over the years, they have gradually seeped into capital projects through insertions by the National Assembly.
“For instance, the National Assembly inserted 7,447 projects valued at N2.24 trillion in the 2024 budget. Tracka identifies this as a problematic trend, considering the huge infrastructure gap and budget deficits the nation is grappling with.
“Further analysis also showed that over 2,558 projects worth N624 billion were allocated to agencies outside their mandate. An example is the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) – ERGP20241489 – allocated N5 billion for the Procurement and Distribution of Official Vehicles to Selected Traditional Rulers in the Six Geo-Political Zones in Nigeria (Multiple Lots).
“Another is the Nigeria Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NiOMR) – ERGP20245718 – allocated N2.32 billion to construct a 3.5km Road from Methodist Church Ibu to the Eri River.”
Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s Country Director, voiced concern about the development.
Okeowo said, “The implications of assigning projects to agencies outside of their mandate are that it undermines monitoring, evaluation, and the sustainability of these projects.
“These agencies lack the expertise and personnel to ensure quality service delivery for these projects, leading to under-delivery and a colossal waste of taxpayers’ money and scarce resources.”
The statement signed by the Head, Tracka, Ayomide Ladipo, added, “Tracka calls on anti-graft agencies to probe these anomalies in the 2024 budget to forestall diversion, misappropriation, and embezzlement. We also call on elected representatives and Ministries, Department and Agencies to provide timely updates to the public and ensure the quality implementation of these projects to ensure Nigerians derive maximum benefit from public funds.”
