The Federal Government will spend ₦962.83 billion on vehicle procurements and constituency empowerment projects under the 2026 Appropriation Act, a sum that eclipses the combined budgets of seven major ministries.
According to a review of the budget by civic technology group Tracka, the figure comprises ₦15.13 billion set aside for 39 Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and ₦947.70 billion assigned to 2,579 empowerment initiatives.
The total allocation surpasses the ₦960.27 billion aggregate funding designated for the Federal Ministries of Industry, Trade and Investment (₦156.8 billion); Housing and Urban Development (₦145.3 billion); Women Affairs (₦169.39 billion); Justice (₦150.7 billion); Livestock Development (₦177.6 billion); Aviation and Aerospace Development (₦87.3 billion); and Petroleum Resources (₦73.1 billion).
Beyond the sheer scale of the expenditure, Tracka raised serious accountability concerns regarding the administration of the funds. The watchdog revealed that these empowerment initiatives are fragmented across 184 separate agencies, many of which lack the statutory mandate to oversee such schemes.
The analysis highlighted several notable distributions to academic and specialized bodies, including ₦127.1 billion for 393 projects at the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, and ₦89.5 billion across six projects under the National Agricultural Development Fund. Additionally, the Federal College of Horticulture in Dadin-Kowa, Gombe, was assigned 216 projects valued at ₦88.1 billion, while the Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan, received 94 projects worth ₦36.9 billion.
Individual high-value items within the budget breakdown include ₦89.09 billion for the Renewed Hope Fertiliser Support Programme, alongside three separate ₦14 billion allocations designated for economic empowerment vehicles and equipment via the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River; youth empowerment schemes under the Federal Ministry of Youth Development; and youth programmes alongside medical outreach under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
The wider budget further spans various line items for tricycles, motorcycles, buses, electric vehicles, sewing machines, vocational equipment, grants, and fertilisers across multiple regions.
However, Tracka cautioned that a lack of transparency threatens the implementation of these line items, pointing out that “only 70 of the 2,579 empowerment projects have clearly identified implementation locations.”
Critiquing the omission, the civic organisation warned that the absence of specific site details undermines public oversight, asking: “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?”