A civic accountability report has uncovered widespread cases of abandoned, uncompleted, and fraudulently delivered federal government-funded projects across Nigeria, with losses running into billions of naira.
The 2024/2025 project tracking report released by Tracka, BudgIT’s citizen-led monitoring platform, revealed that 92 projects valued at N15.07 billion were fraudulently delivered, while hundreds of others remain incomplete or entirely unexecuted despite receiving budgetary allocations under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
According to the report, Tracka monitored 2,760 projects across 28 states of the federation. Of these, 1,438 projects were completed, 660 were ongoing, 471 were not executed, and 99 were abandoned.
Tracka described the 92 fraudulently delivered projects under Tinubu as cases involving fund diversion, relocation of projects to unintended locations, payments for projects already executed in previous budget cycles, partial completion, or substandard execution.
The report identified Imo, Lagos, Kwara, Abia, and Ogun states as recording the highest concentration of such projects. It noted that 57.1 per cent of the fraudulently delivered projects, valued at N8.61 billion, were located in the five states.
As part of its sectoral assessment, Tracka said it conducted targeted monitoring of strategic infrastructure in key areas, including dams, primary healthcare centres, and federal interventions in the Niger Delta.
Following repeated national grid collapses recorded in 2024, the platform tracked 16 dam projects across 13 states, valued at N432 million. None of the dam projects had been completed, with four abandoned, six progressing slowly, and six yet to commence despite funding approvals.
On primary healthcare, Tracka assessed 47 revitalised primary healthcare centres across 25 states. The findings showed that 26 facilities recorded visible improvements, 12 were undergoing renovation, eight showed no sign of intervention, while one was completely abandoned. The report noted that many affected communities still travel long distances to access medical care due to inadequate staffing, poor equipment, and sanitation challenges.
In the Niger Delta region, Tracka monitored 48 federal government-funded projects across Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, and Rivers states. Of these, 29 projects were completed, 13 had not commenced, four were ongoing, while two were untraceable despite confirmed funding.
Despite the widespread gaps in project delivery, the report highlighted 15 success stories where citizen engagement contributed to improved outcomes. These included the revitalisation of Kaida Sabo Primary Healthcare Centre, renovation works at Nawairudeen Primary School in Plateau State, completion of a stalled healthcare centre in Ikirun, empowerment programmes for persons with disabilities in Katsina, erosion control projects in Rivers, and borehole projects in Akwa Ibom.
Commenting on the findings, Head of Tracka, Joshua Osiyemi, stressed the importance of civic participation in governance and public finance oversight.
“If just five per cent of Nigerians engage in oversight, monitoring could reach 50 per cent, significantly reducing opportunities for corruption and greatly improving service delivery and quality of life across communities,” Osiyemi said.
By Israel Arogbonlo @Tribune
