The total amount disbursed to state governments and the Federal Capital Territory as financial support for infrastructure and security projects has increased to N2.45tn, official records from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation have revealed.

The amount disbursed between March 2024 and August 2025, which spanned over 17 months, was aimed at bolstering infrastructure development and strengthening security operations at the subnational level, as part of ongoing efforts to address widespread insecurity and bridge critical infrastructure gaps across the country.

These details were contained in internal documents from the OAGF, submitted at the December 2025 Federal Accounts Allocation Committee meeting, obtained on Friday.

The disbursements were made under a special intervention programme funded through non-oil revenue savings, as part of efforts to ease fiscal pressure on subnational governments and accelerate project execution at the grassroots.

The document, titled “Ledger of Savings on Intervention to States Infrastructure and Security,” showed that the payments were drawn from non-oil revenue savings, totalling N2.45tn within the 17 months. However, the document did not disclose how much each state received or whether the funds were disbursed separately from the monthly revenue allocation.

Details of the transactions indicated that the total receipts by the Federal Government over the period stood at N2.45tn, from which N2.45tn was paid out to state governments and the Federal Capital Territory, leaving zero balance as of 25 August 2025.

The document disclosed that total disbursements in 2024 amounted to N1.184tn, following four transactions in April (N259bn), May (N222bn), September (N370bn), and December (N333bn).

In 2025, payments rose further to N1.266tn, driven by six transfers spread across February (N216bn), April (N200bn), May (N250bn), June (N250bn), July (N250bn), and August (N100bn), underscoring a sustained pace of funding releases to beneficiaries over the two-year period.

Each payment is recorded as a “Payment for Intervention to States and FCT”, while corresponding inflows are titled “Transfer from Non-Oil Savings.”

Recall that on July 20, 2023, President Bola Tinubu approved the establishment of the Infrastructure Support Fund for the 36 states of the federation as part of measures to cushion the effects of the petrol subsidy removal on the people.

Providing more details on the establishment of the ISF for the 36 states, the then Special Adviser to the President, Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Dele Alake, said, in a statement, “The new infrastructure fund will enable the states to intervene and invest in the critical areas of transportation, including farm to market road improvements; agriculture, encompassing livestock and ranching solutions; health, with a focus on basic healthcare; education, especially basic education; power and water resources, that will improve economic competitiveness, create jobs and deliver economic prosperity for Nigerians.

“The committee also resolved to save a portion of the monthly distributable proceeds to minimise the impact of the increased revenues, occasioned by the subsidy removal and exchange rate unification, on money supply, as well as inflation and the exchange rate.”

He added, “These savings will complement the efforts of the ISF and other existing and planned fiscal measures, all aimed at ensuring that the subsidy removal translates into tangible improvements in the lives and living standards of Nigerians.”

A breakdown of the transactions shows that monthly receipts into the account and subsequent disbursements largely followed a predictable pattern, punctuated by periods of sharp spikes that reflected major intervention payments to states. In March 2024, the Federal Government received N300bn as a transfer from non-oil savings but did not make any disbursement to states in that month. This was followed in April 2024 by a payment of N259bn to states, even as only N100bn was received into the account during the period.

In May 2024, inflows remained modest, with N100bn saved into the account, while a larger sum of N222bn was paid out to sub-national governments. Savings of N100bn were again recorded in June 2024, with no corresponding disbursement reported. The trend continued in July and August 2024, when N100bn was received in each month, also without any payments to states.

A major shift occurred in September 2024, when N100bn was received into the account before a substantial N370bn was disbursed to states as intervention funding. Inflows of N100bn resumed in October 2024, followed by a higher savings of N200bn in November 2024, reflecting an effort to rebuild balances after the heavy September payout. By December 2024, another significant intervention was executed, with N333bn shared among benefiting states.

The pattern extended into 2025, beginning with savings of N100bn recorded in both January and February. This was followed by a disbursement of N216bn in February, paid to states as intervention support. In March and April 2025, the Federal Government again saved N100bn in each month, before transferring N200bn to states in April.

By May 2025, both savings and disbursements increased, with N250bn saved and an equal N250bn paid to states within the same month.

This one-to-one pattern continued through June and July, when states received N250bn in each month, matching the amounts saved. In August 2025, the trend moderated, with N100bn saved and the same amount subsequently shared among states, underscoring a closer alignment between inflows and intervention payments in the latter part of the period.

The regular monthly payments, typically N100bn, reflect a structured intervention strategy by the FG to provide fiscal support to subnational governments.

The payments, made monthly under the Federation Account framework, are aimed at supporting subnational governments to address pressing infrastructure gaps and security-related challenges. However, questions remain over how the funds are being utilised by states, especially given rising public concern about transparency in state-level spending.

Reacting in an earlier interview, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Rafsanjani, criticised the Federal Government and state governors over what he described as the poor and unaccountable use of the N1.6tn disbursed for infrastructure and security between March 2024 and May 2025.

Rafsanjani, speaking in an interview with The PUNCH, said the funds, which were meant to address critical developmental challenges across the country, have not achieved their objective, considering the level of insecurity in the country.

He noted that with political actors already preoccupied with the 2027 elections, public spending has become more about power retention than people-oriented development.

He said, “First and foremost, we are in the era of financial recklessness. We are in the era of the collapse of responsible governance, accountability, and a collapse in poor projects and programmes that would impact the Nigerian people. So we are not surprised to see this level of lack of poor utilisation of these savings to ameliorate the suffering of Nigerians in terms of infrastructure, insecurity, healthcare, education, and basic amenities that are needed for the society or for the people to be productive and protected in Nigeria.

“Instead, we are seeing democratic scrambling of public resources without accountability for personal use. This is what we are experiencing, and unfortunately, this is what public officials and political officials are doing in the country. Right now, the only preoccupation is 2027, so wherever they can make money to invest in the 2027 election at the expense of development in Nigeria. This is why you can’t have any accountable public spending in Nigeria.”

“No, this can’t be judiciously spent, because if it were, we would have seen the positive impact on the nation. But because it is not judiciously spent, that’s why you can’t see any manifestation of benefits to the Nigerian people.

“The whole idea was probably not to allow the public to know these things, where questions would be asked. We need to make a serious issue, it would continue, and this is happening at all levels.”

The PUNCH recalls that, beyond these interventions, the Federal Government continues to fund major infrastructure projects, including the approval of a N1tn Metropolitan Rail Service for Kano State, designed to improve urban transportation, stimulate economic activities, and ease traffic congestion in the state capital.

The approval was disclosed by Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, while addressing members of the state contingent that participated in the 2025 National Qur’anic Recitation Competition held in Borno State.

“The Federal Government has approved the construction of a N1 trillion Metropolitan Rail Service for Kano State in a major move aimed at transforming urban transportation,” the statement read.

Yusuf said the rail project would provide a modern, efficient, and affordable mass transit system linking major districts within the Kano metropolis, thereby enhancing mobility and stimulating trade and investment.

“The Kano Metropolitan Rail Service will transform public transportation in the state by providing a reliable, safe, and affordable means of movement for residents across the metropolis,” the governor was quoted as saying.

Kano’s receipt of the large-scale infrastructure intervention comes against the backdrop of recent political realignments in the state, following the defection of key political actors to the ruling All Progressives Congress. (PUNCH)

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