Nigeria’s N3.9bn Ghost Projects: Report Exposes Rampant Mismanagement
A damning new report by Tracka, BudgIT’s public service monitoring platform, has revealed that 129 government-funded projects have been abandoned, despite contractors receiving a staggering N3.9bn in payments.
Launched in Abuja on Thursday, the report—titled Achieving National Development through Efficient Service Delivery—lays bare a troubling pattern of mismanagement and a lack of accountability in Nigeria’s public project execution. It details how N2.4bn was disbursed to 17 contractors for 15 projects across nine states, yet work never commenced at any of the designated sites.
Among the most egregious cases cited was the N401m payment made to Mainstream Contractors in December 2023 under the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing for the rehabilitation of the Welcome-Nasarawa-Farewell road in Nasarawa State. Months later, not a single construction vehicle has been seen at the site.
Similarly, Icent Light Ltd received N153m between August and November 2023 under the National Institute for Construction Technology, Uromi, for fencing, landscaping, and completing the Onicha-Uku Town Hall and Event Centre in Delta State—yet the site remains untouched. In Osun State, A3 Interbiz Link Service Limited was paid N88m for the construction and equipping of a primary healthcare centre in Adedeji Community, Ikirun, but the project remains at a standstill.
A Broader Crisis of Public Works Failures
Tracka’s monitoring covered 1,404 projects worth N282.5bn across 25 states, exposing a deeply flawed system of project execution. While 720 projects (51 per cent) were completed, and 332 (24 per cent) were ongoing, 129 (9 per cent) had either been abandoned or were fraudulently executed. Another 223 projects (16 per cent) had not even begun, raising urgent concerns about the government’s ability to deliver on infrastructure promises.
The report also ranked performance across ten Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), with the Universal Basic Education Commission emerging as the most effective, boasting a 78 per cent completion rate. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture followed with 68 per cent, while the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency posted a 65 per cent completion rate.
Conversely, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs recorded a dismal 16 per cent completion rate, while the Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority fared only slightly better at 20 per cent—highlighting significant inefficiencies in critical sectors.
‘A Major Conduit for Embezzlement’
Reacting to the report, BudgIT’s Country Director, Gabriel Okeowo, did not mince words in condemning the rampant mismanagement of public funds.
“Despite the clamour for increased allocations to capital expenditure by the Federal Government and sub-nationals, our tracking exercise has revealed that capital projects have become the largest conduits for embezzlement and misappropriation,” Okeowo said.
He blamed poor oversight and collusion between MDAs and contractors for the rising tide of project abandonment, warning that Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit will only worsen if urgent reforms are not implemented.
“Poor oversight and collusion between MDAs and contractors undermine project execution, leading to outright abandonment. Given Nigeria’s pressing infrastructure deficits, public project execution must be taken seriously,” he added.
A Call for Urgent Action
Tracka has called on Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to investigate the irregularities in the 2023 budget expenditures and prosecute defaulting contractors.
The group also urged elected representatives to prioritise the completion of abandoned projects to ensure public funds are not squandered at the expense of national development.
“If left unchecked, Nigeria’s scarce resources will continue to be siphoned off by unscrupulous actors, while citizens remain deprived of essential infrastructure,” Okeowo warned.
As the country grapples with economic challenges and growing public frustration over mismanagement, the latest revelations reinforce the need for systemic reforms to ensure that taxpayers’ money is spent on genuine development rather than lining the pockets of corrupt elites.
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