The Federal Government of Nigeria disbursed ₦1.23 trillion to 17 ministries for capital projects in the third quarter of 2023, according to the Budget Implementation Report for Q3 2023.
This figure represents a 75.4% reduction from the ₦5 trillion initially allocated for capital expenditure in the 2023 budget, leading to a significant shortfall of ₦3.8 trillion.
The objective of the funding was to support development and infrastructure projects as of September 30, 2023. Capital projects typically involve substantial investments in physical infrastructure or assets aimed at delivering long-term benefits, including the construction, acquisition, or refurbishment of tangible assets like buildings, roads, bridges, dams, schools, hospitals, and other facilities.
The report highlighted that out of the total ₦1.23 trillion disbursed, only ₦962.87 billion was utilized by the ministries. Funds were released in tranches based on resource availability and government priorities: ₦351 billion in the first tranche, ₦331.92 billion in the second tranche, and ₦208 billion in the third tranche. Additionally, ₦75.35 billion was allocated as AlEs MDAs Budget and ₦261 billion as AlEs Service Wide.
A detailed breakdown revealed varying degrees of fund utilization among the 52 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) listed in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation’s document. Among them, 42 MDAs (80.77%) utilized more than the average of 52.44% of their allocated funds, with 35 MDAs exceeding a utilization rate of 65%, and only four MDAs (7.72%) achieving full utilization.
Conversely, 10 MDAs (18.18%) had a utilization rate below 40%, five MDAs (9.10%) utilized less than 20%, and three MDAs (5.45%) did not utilize any of the funds provided.
The Ministry of Defence received the largest capital allocation of ₦189.39 billion but utilized only ₦180.69 billion, leaving a surplus of ₦9.3 billion. The Ministry of Works and Housing, with an allocation of ₦178.62 billion, utilized ₦118.65 billion, leaving a surplus of ₦57.97 billion. The Ministry of Agriculture received ₦128.24 billion but utilized only ₦109.89 billion, leaving a surplus of ₦18.35 billion.
Other notable allocations included the Ministry of Water Resources, which used ₦21.81 billion from its ₦28.27 billion budget, and the Ministry of Education, which spent ₦31.35 billion from its ₦54.03 billion budget. The Ministry of Health allocated ₦34.82 billion from its ₦55.77 billion budget, while the Ministry of Aviation utilized ₦5.94 billion from its ₦20.44 billion budget. The Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Technology used ₦12.76 billion from its ₦44.08 billion budget, and the Ministry of Transport allocated ₦43.39 billion from its ₦56.55 billion budget.
The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management allocated ₦37.13 billion from its ₦53.4 billion budget, the Office of the Secretary General of the Federation allocated ₦14.04 billion from its ₦17.37 billion budget, and the Police Affairs Ministry allocated ₦27.42 billion from its ₦29.79 billion budget.
The budget office expressed concern over the predominance of local projects not within the scope of the MDAs. It highlighted that these local projects are prioritized over those aligned with the MDAs’ mandates, which is a disturbing trend.
The report recommended prioritizing capital projects that align with the mandates of the various MDAs during budget preparation and implementation. “Most MDAs’ capital projects are dominated by constituency projects. This practice is disturbing because although most of the projects have no direct bearing with the mandate of the host agencies, they are prioritized over the projects in line with the mandate of the MDAs,” the report stated.
