Tracka, a subsidiary of BudgIT, has said that Nigeria allocated N732 billion on vague empowerment projects higher than the N646.5 billion allocated to health projects in the 2024 national budget.
Ayomide
Ladipo, the Head of Tracka disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
Tracka
maintained that Nigeria’s empowerment projects were vague and challenging to
track due to their nature.
According
to Tracka, the huge allocation for empowerment projects would have been
channeled to curb the gap in Nigeria’s health sector having the second-highest
child mortality rate in the World.
Tracka
alleged that empowerment projects were used as a funnel to siphon public
resources.
It
noted that the National Assembly has 7,447 projects valued at N2.24 trillion in
the 2024 budget.
Further
analysis of Tracka’s report also showed that over 2,558 projects worth N624 billion
were allocated to agencies outside their mandate.
Accordingly,
Tracka asked anti-graft agencies in Nigeria to probe these anomalies in the
2024 budget to forestall diversion, misappropriation, and embezzlement.
“Tracka
maintains that empowerment projects are vague and challenging to track due to
their nature. They are also used as a funnel to transfer public resources to
party loyalists, resulting in the misuse of public funds.
“In the
2024 Federal Government budget, there are 4,440 empowerment projects.
Previously, empowerment projects were limited to constituency projects, but
over the years, they have gradually seeped into capital projects through
insertions by the National Assembly. For instance, the National Assembly
inserted 7,447 projects valued at N2.24 trillion in the 2024 budget.
“Tracka
identifies this as a problematic trend, considering the huge infrastructure gap
and budget deficits the nation is grappling with.
“Further
analysis also showed that over 2,558 projects worth N624 billion were allocated
to agencies outside their mandate. An example is the Small and Medium
Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) – ERGP20241489 – allocated
N5 billion for the Procurement and Distribution of Official Vehicles to
Selected Traditional Rulers in the Six Geo-Political Zones in Nigeria (Multiple
Lots). Another is the Nigeria Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research
(NiOMR) – ERGP20245718 – allocated N2.32 billion to construct a 3.5km Road from
Methodist Church Ibu to the Eri River,” the organisation said.
BudgIT’s
Country Director, Gabriel Okeowo commenting on Tracka’s discovery said, “The
implications of assigning projects to agencies outside of their mandate are
that it undermines monitoring, evaluation, and the sustainability of these
projects.
“These
agencies lack the expertise and personnel to ensure quality service delivery
for these projects, leading to under-delivery and a colossal waste of
taxpayers’ money and scarce resources.”
Recall
that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the N28.7 trillion 2024 budget into law
in January this year.
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