State governments are receiving billions of naira through a relatively new Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) intervention for infrastructure and security, with available half-year budget implementation reports showing that at least ₦435 billion in revenue was recorded under the funding window by 29 states between January and June 2026.
The intervention, classified in state financial records as “State Infrastructure and Security” under the National Chart of Accounts code 11010313, is distinct from the FAAC conventional statutory allocations but distributed as regular FAAC revenue. No amount was disbursed for this purpose in the corresponding period of 2025.
The data was obtained from the fiscal performance of each state, utilising data from the Q1 to Q2 budget performance reports from January to June 2026 obtained from Open Nigerian States, a BudgIT-backed website that serves as a repository of government budget data, and was analysed by The PUNCH correspondent on Thursday.
The intervention comes as Nigeria battles worsening insecurity and a huge infrastructure deficit, with banditry, kidnappings, attacks on schools and communities, poor roads and other infrastructure gaps placing increasing pressure on state governments.
Between March 2024 and May 2026, no fewer than 603 pupils, students and teachers were abducted in seven mass school abductions, despite the government’s ₦145 billion Safe Schools Initiative.
The government recently intensified efforts to address the security crisis, including the expansion of the Nigerian Army from eight to 12 divisions and the approval for the recruitment of 28,000 additional soldiers. However, the scale of insecurity has increased pressure on state governments to also invest more in security and critical infrastructure.
It was against this backdrop, and following the removal of petrol subsidy, that President Bola Tinubu approved the Infrastructure Support Fund for the 36 states in July 2023 to strengthen their capacity to invest in roads, agriculture, health, education, power, water and other critical areas.
A June 2025 publication by The PUNCH disclosed that between March 2024 and May 2025, state governments and the Federal Capital Territory received a total sum of ₦1.6 trillion for infrastructure and security projects. Three years after the pronouncement, this funding has now emerged as another revenue source for meeting government obligations by sub-nationals.
The PUNCH correspondent reviewed data covering 32 states for which information was available to make this submission. Of the 32 states reviewed, 16 specifically reported a combined ₦265.50 billion under the dedicated State Infrastructure and Security revenue line.
Another 13 states reported a combined ₦169.75 billion as other separately disclosed FAAC-related revenue, although their reports did not classify the money directly as infrastructure and security funding. The combined amount from the 29 states with identifiable receipts therefore stood at ₦435.25 billion.
Three states, Adamawa, Anambra and Oyo, recorded zero actual receipts under the infrastructure and security line during the period, despite Adamawa and Anambra making budgetary provisions for the item and Oyo expecting an ₦8 billion allocation.
Akwa Ibom was included among the 32 states reviewed, but its available half-year report did not disclose a figure for the infrastructure and security revenue component.
Four states, Bayelsa, Edo, Osun and Rivers, were not covered by the available dataset and were therefore excluded from the calculation.
While Bauchi, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Kwara, Ogun, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe clearly reported the dedicated infrastructure and security revenue, several other states recorded substantial sums simply as other revenue distributions from FAAC.
This suggests that the total amount flowing to states through the special revenue window may be larger than the ₦435.25 billion identified in the available accounts.
A state-by-state analysis showed that Enugu recorded the highest cumulative receipt of ₦27.02 billion among states that separately reported a dedicated infrastructure and security revenue line, followed by Gombe with ₦24.50 billion.
Jigawa, Katsina and Ogun each received ₦19.50 billion, while Cross River and Yobe recorded ₦17.50 billion apiece. Borno received ₦16.41 billion, Bauchi got ₦14.58 billion, while Ebonyi, Imo, Kano, Kwara and Taraba each reported ₦14 billion. Sokoto received ₦12.50 billion, and Kogi recorded the lowest amount among the 16 states with actual dedicated receipts at ₦7 billion.
However, when states that classified the money under other FAAC-related revenue heads were included, Ondo emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries, reporting ₦31.86 billion, while Lagos received ₦30.30 billion.
Abia reported ₦24.50 billion, Nasarawa ₦21.24 billion, Niger ₦15.50 billion, while Benue and Plateau each recorded ₦14 billion. Delta received ₦5.50 billion, Ekiti reported ₦5.38 billion, Kaduna ₦3.83 billion, Kebbi ₦1.95 billion and Zamfara ₦1.71 billion.
The breakdown showed that the 16 states with clearly identified infrastructure and security revenue accounted for about 61 per cent of the ₦435.25 billion total, while the 13 states that reported other separately disclosed FAAC-related revenue accounted for approximately 39 per cent.
The total amount is equivalent to nearly 10 per cent of the ₦4.55 trillion federation allocation received by states with available half-year records. It was also equivalent to 20.71 per cent of the ₦2.10 trillion generated internally by the same states during the period. When compared with the combined ₦6.65 trillion FAAC and independent revenue, the ₦435.25 billion represented 6.55 per cent.
Further analysis of the “State Infrastructure and Security” revenue line revealed that Gombe State has received ₦24.50 billion against a full-year budget provision of ₦5 billion, representing 490 per cent of its annual estimate within the first six months.
Bauchi recorded ₦14.58 billion, equivalent to 86.6 per cent of its ₦16.84 billion annual budget for the item. Jigawa received 65 per cent of its ₦30 billion annual provision, while Yobe recorded 48 per cent of its ₦36.49 billion budget. Yobe recorded ₦17.50 billion against a ₦36.49 billion budget, achieving 48 per cent of its annual projection. The state was therefore ₦18.99 billion, or 52 per cent, short of its full-year estimate.
Ogun received ₦19.50 billion compared with its ₦51.28 billion budget, representing 38 per cent performance. This left the state with a funding gap of ₦31.78 billion, or 62 per cent of its annual projection. Enugu recorded ₦27.02 billion against a ₦80 billion budget, achieving 33.8 per cent of its full-year estimate. The state’s receipts were therefore ₦52.98 billion, or 66.2 per cent, below the amount budgeted.
Similarly, Borno received ₦16.41 billion out of its ₦49.44 billion budget, representing 33.2 per cent performance and a shortfall of ₦33.03 billion, or 66.8 per cent. Katsina received ₦19.50 billion against a budget of ₦60.27 billion, achieving 32.4 per cent of its annual estimate. The state was ₦40.77 billion, or 67.6 per cent, below its budget projection.
Kwara received ₦14 billion out of ₦49.62 billion, representing 28.2 per cent performance, while Kano recorded ₦14 billion against a budget of ₦61.07 billion, equivalent to 22.9 per cent. The figures left Kwara with a ₦35.62 billion gap, representing 71.8 per cent of its annual estimate, while Kano was ₦47.07 billion, or 77.1 per cent, below its projection. Kogi received ₦7 billion against a ₦39.19 billion budget, representing 17.9 per cent performance and leaving a gap of ₦32.19 billion, or 82.1 per cent.
Taraba recorded ₦14 billion compared with its ₦80.70 billion annual budget, representing 17.3 per cent performance. The state was therefore ₦66.70 billion, or 82.7 per cent, short of its annual estimate. Ebonyi received ₦14 billion against a budget of ₦88.41 billion, achieving just 15.8 per cent. This left an outstanding balance of ₦74.41 billion, representing 84.2 per cent of the state’s projection. Sokoto recorded one of the widest gaps, receiving ₦12.50 billion against its revised ₦90 billion budget. The amount represented 13.9 per cent performance, leaving a balance of ₦77.50 billion, or 86.1 per cent.
Adamawa and Anambra recorded the biggest percentage shortfalls after receiving no money under the dedicated revenue line by the end of June. Adamawa had budgeted about ₦35.23 billion, based on its revised estimate, while Anambra projected ₦10 billion. Both states therefore recorded a 100 per cent funding gap. Cross River and Imo received ₦17.50 billion and ₦14 billion, respectively, but the available data did not provide corresponding budget figures for the infrastructure and security revenue line. Their budget performance could therefore not be calculated.