Nearly all federally funded projects in Nigeria that were abandoned despite full payment to contractors are concentrated in just five states, highlighting deep weaknesses in project execution and post-disbursement oversight that national capital budget performance figures often mask, according to data from BudgIT’s Tracka platform.

Data from the civic accountability platform show that 97.5 percent of abandoned federal projects tracked nationwide are found in Taraba, Abia, Nasarawa, Adamawa, and Ogun. In value terms, the projects account for N7.8 billion out of the N8 billion tied to abandoned projects where funds had already been released.

Taraba recorded the highest share of abandoned projects at 29.90 percent, followed by Abia with 20 percent. Nasarawa accounted for 10.53 percent, Adamawa 7.48 percent, and Ogun 7.14 percent, according to the report’s state-level analysis.

The findings are drawn from Tracka’s latest project-tracking exercise, which assessed capital project implementation under the 2024/2025 federal budget. Tracka tracked 2,760 federal projects across 30 states, focusing on whether budget releases translated into completed and functional infrastructure.

While the value of abandoned projects is significant, the data show that the problem is far from nationwide. Seventeen states recorded no abandoned projects during the tracking period, suggesting that abandonment is heavily concentrated rather than evenly spread across the federation.

“This is no longer a funding problem,” said Osiyemi Joshua, head of Tracka at BudgIT. “These are projects where money has been released and contractors paid, yet nothing was delivered. That points clearly to failures after disbursement.”

The findings add context to official claims of capital budget performance. The federal government has said capital budget implementation reached close to 80 percent by September 2025, following two extensions of the implementation timeline. Tracka’s data suggest that aggregate implementation figures may hide significant gaps between funds released and outcomes delivered at the state level.

State analysis shows that Taraba and Abia, which together account for nearly half of all abandoned projects, recorded several cases where federally funded projects stalled completely after payments were made. Tracka noted that abandoned projects cut across sectors, raising concerns about contractor supervision and monitoring by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.

Unlike delayed or ongoing projects, abandoned projects represent sunk public expenditure with no clear prospect of recovery. Analysts say this weakens the impact of capital spending, ties up scarce public resources, and leaves communities with incomplete or deteriorating infrastructure.

Joshua said stronger enforcement is needed to address the problem. “Budget approval and payment are only the beginning. Without consequences for non-performance and stronger monitoring after funds are released, abandoned projects will continue to undermine public trust,” he said.

Tracka said it has engaged relevant MDAs and the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committees on several abandoned projects identified in the report, urging tighter oversight to ensure federal capital spending results in usable infrastructure rather than unfinished works. (Text, excluding headline: BusinessDay)

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