FG budgets N962.83bn for SUVs, empowerment amid rising debt

The Federal Government has allocated N962.83bn for the procurement of Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and empowerment projects in the 2026 budget, despite plans to finance a significant part of the spending through borrowing, civic technology organisation Tracka has said.

In its review of the 2026 Appropriation Act, Tracka said the allocation includes N15.13bn for the purchase of 39 SUVs and N947.70bn for 2,579 empowerment projects.

According to the organisation, the N962.83bn allocation is higher than the combined N960.27bn budgeted for seven federal ministries: Industry, Trade and Investment; Housing and Urban Development; Women Affairs; Justice; Livestock Development; Aviation and Aerospace Development; and Petroleum Resources.

Tracka noted that the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment received N156.8bn, Housing and Urban Development N145.3bn, Women Affairs N169.39bn, Justice N150.7bn, Livestock Development N177.6bn, Aviation and Aerospace Development N87.3bn, while Petroleum Resources was allocated N73.1bn.

The organisation also raised concerns over the implementation of the empowerment projects, saying many lacked basic details.

It stated, “Yet, only 70 of the 2,579 empowerment projects have clearly identified implementation locations.”

Tracka said the absence of project locations raises questions about accountability and monitoring.

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It asked, “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?”

According to the group, the 2,579 projects are spread across 184 implementing agencies, including institutions whose core responsibilities do not usually include empowerment programmes.

Its analysis showed that the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, was assigned 393 projects worth N127.1bn, while the National Agricultural Development Fund received six projects valued at N89.5bn. The Federal College of Horticulture, Dadin-Kowa, Gombe, was allocated 216 projects worth N88.1bn, while the Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan, got 94 projects valued at N36.9bn.

Tracka’s review also showed that the largest single empowerment allocation is N89.09bn for the Renewed Hope Fertiliser Support Programme under the National Agricultural Development Fund.

Other major allocations include N14bn for the procurement and distribution of economic empowerment equipment and utility vehicles through the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, N14bn for youth empowerment programmes under the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, and another N14bn for youth empowerment and medical outreach under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

The budget also provides funds for the purchase of buses, tricycles, motorcycles, electric vehicles, sewing machines, fertilisers, vocational equipment, grants and other empowerment items across different agencies and parts of the country.

While acknowledging the value of empowerment programmes, Tracka said they must be properly planned and openly implemented.

It said, “Let us be clear, there is nothing inherently wrong with empowerment programmes! When well-designed and transparently implemented, they can improve livelihoods, create economic opportunities, and support vulnerable Nigerians.”

However, it warned that many such projects have become tools for political patronage.

“Experience over the years has shown that many poorly defined empowerment projects have become vehicles for political patronage, rewarding loyalists rather than delivering broad-based benefits to citizens. When projects have no clear location, no transparent beneficiary selection process, and are assigned to agencies without the appropriate mandate, public confidence is eroded, and accountability becomes difficult,” the organisation stated.

Tracka also linked its concerns to the government’s borrowing plans for the 2026 budget.

It said, “This concern is even more pressing given that the 2026 Budget is projected to be financed with a deficit of about 46 per cent. At a time when government is borrowing heavily to fund public expenditure, every naira should be directed toward investments with clear development outcomes, measurable impact, and value for money, not opaque allocations that citizens cannot effectively track.”

The organisation called for greater transparency in future budgets.

According to Tracka, “A budget should not only allocate resources, it should also inspire public confidence. Every budget item should have a clear purpose, a defined location, an implementing agency with the legal mandate to deliver it, identifiable beneficiaries, and measurable outcomes.”