The Federal Government set aside ₦962.83 billion in the 2026 budget for 39 SUVs and 2,579 empowerment projects, an amount that outstrips the combined budgets of seven federal ministries, according to an analysis by civic tech group Tracka.
Tracka’s review of the 2026 Appropriation Act, cited by Punch, found ₦15.13 billion earmarked for the SUVs and ₦947.70 billion for the empowerment projects. Combined, that exceeds the ₦960.27 billion allocated to the Ministries of Industry, Trade and Investment; Housing and Urban Development; Women Affairs; Justice; Livestock Development; Aviation and Aerospace Development; and Petroleum Resources.
Individually, Industry got ₦156.8 billion, Housing ₦145.3 billion, Women Affairs ₦169.39 billion, Justice ₦150.7 billion, Livestock Development ₦177.6 billion, Aviation ₦87.3 billion and Petroleum Resources ₦73.1 billion.
Locations Missing For Most Projects
Tracka said only 70 of the 2,579 empowerment projects have clearly stated locations, raising concerns about how citizens and oversight bodies can track implementation.
“How can citizens track projects with no stated location? How can oversight institutions verify implementation? How can taxpayers know who ultimately benefits from these allocations?” the group asked.
The projects are spread across 184 implementing agencies, some with no clear statutory link to empowerment work. The Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, got 393 projects worth ₦127.1 billion; the National Agricultural Development Fund got six projects worth ₦89.5 billion; the Federal College of Horticulture, Dadin-Kowa, got 216 projects worth ₦88.1 billion; and the Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan, got 94 projects worth ₦36.9 billion.
The single largest empowerment line item is ₦89.09 billion for the Renewed Hope Fertiliser Support Programme under the National Agricultural Development Fund. Other big-ticket items include ₦14 billion each for empowerment equipment and vehicles through the Oji River college, youth empowerment under the Youth Development ministry, and youth empowerment plus medical outreach under the Humanitarian Affairs ministry.
Tracka acknowledged empowerment schemes can work when well run, but warned that vague, poorly targeted programmes have historically become tools for political patronage rather than broad-based development.
Borrowing Climbs To ₦29.2trn
The scrutiny comes as the government’s 2026 borrowing plan rose to ₦29.20 trillion, up ₦11.31 trillion from the ₦17.89 trillion first proposed in the Abridged Budget Call Circular.
Total 2026 spending is projected at ₦68.32 trillion against revenue of ₦36.87 trillion, leaving a deficit of about ₦31.46 trillion — roughly 46 per cent of the budget. The government also raised ₦5.08 trillion from domestic bonds in the first half of 2026, a 77.8 per cent jump from the ₦2.86 trillion raised in the same period last year, per Debt Management Office data.
Tracka argued that with borrowing this heavy, spending should prioritise measurable development outcomes over allocations citizens cannot track.
Reactions
Economist Muda Yusuf, CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, warned that rising deficits and debt could unwind Nigeria’s fragile macroeconomic gains, cautioning against a “vicious circle of debt” that could reignite inflation and pressure the naira.
ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar demanded accounting for what he called a ₦7.98 trillion oil revenue windfall, questioning why the government keeps borrowing despite crude prices sitting above the 2026 budget benchmark.
Former APC deputy publicity secretary Timi Frank called the budget controversies proof of weak transparency under the administration, citing allegations of inflated allocations and fictitious projects, and urged the National Assembly to tighten oversight.
Economist Sheriffdeen Tella of Olabisi Onabanjo University said empowerment spending should back local production, not imports, arguing that funding foreign-made goods with borrowed money strips the economy of its benefit. Lagos-based economist Adewale Abimbola described the spending pattern as a sign of weak fiscal prioritisation, saying infrastructure and human capital investment would deliver stronger long-term returns, and pressed the government to ensure empowerment funds reach genuinely vulnerable Nigerians rather than being lost to waste.
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