The last may just not have been heard about the alleged padding of this year’s budget by the 10^th National Assembly (NASS).

In the wake of the allegation by now suspended Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) of his colleague lawmakers ‘fraudulently jerking up’ the 2024 budget, Economic Confidential gathered that the Senator Godswill Akpabio-led NASS approved a total of N8,447,887,443,379 for capital projects of 20 federal ministries in this year’s Appropriation Act.

The select ministries are Youths, Sports, Defence, Foreign Affairs, Special Duties, Budget and Economic Planning, Tourism, Justice and Petroleum Resources.

Others are Arts and Culture, Women’s Affairs, Education, Police Affairs, Communication and Digital Economy, Agriculture, Water Resources, Environment, Health, Solid Minerals and Works.

Surprisingly, N6,671,810,092,564 (out of the N8,447,887,443,379), representing approximately 71.98% of the total ‘Development Capital Allocation’, was “assigned to initiatives that are either elusive in terms of traceability or encumbered by significant accountability constraints”.

Meanwhile, some other projects with specific locations are not within the statutory mandates of the respective ministries or agencies and are mostly located outside the operational jurisdictions of the respective organisations.

A document titled, “Final Summary Analysis of the Harmonized 2024 Budget (Passed)”, produced by Microxpressions Consult and submitted to the National Assembly, provides a concise overview of key items and figures from the 2024 budget, focusing on allocations to some ministries and agencies.

Analysing the document, Economic Confidential observed that N2,486,098,619,722 (out of the N8,447,887,443,379 total budget for the capital projects of the 20 select ministries) was aggregated into regional projects, presenting substantial challenges in monitoring the fund’s deployment and gauging its utilization’s efficacy.

Equally, an additional N4,185,711,477,842 was earmarked for projects that lack specific geographic identifiers, thus complicating the traceability and accountability processes.

Regarding what the six geopolitical zones got (for capital projects) in the 20 ministries, Economic Confidential discovered that the South West was allocated N419,917,163,300 while the South East got N537,086,249,684. The rest are South-South (N224,969,978,366), North West (N365,387,892,588), North East (N349,434,063,602) and North Central (N730,029,622,125).

On the Federal Ministry of Youths a total of N5,096,411,496 was budgeted for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones. Regrettably, the area where projects worth N2,868,851,764 (out of the N5,096,411,496) were not indicated.

On the Federal Ministry of Sports, N21,614,361,733 was earmarked for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones. Sadly, the area where projects worth N7,464,061,733 (out of the N21,614,361,733) were not revealed.

Similarly, on the Federal Ministry of Defence, N3,762,721,808,585 was set aside for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones. However, the area where projects worth N3,280,130,880,602 (out of the N3,762,721,808,585) were not mentioned.

On the Federal Ministry of Special Duties, N10,770,986,503 was budgeted for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones. Surprisingly, the area where projects worth N4,672,818,582 (out of the N10,770,986,503) were not identified was not identified.

Furthermore, the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning allocated N2,293,112,174,749 for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones. Unfortunately, the area where projects worth N383,729,998,776 (out of the N2,293,112,174,749) were not stated.

Again, on the Federal Ministry of Tourism, N15,358,369,171 was pegged for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones. However, the area where projects worth N1,206,655,625 (out of the N15,358,369,171) were not disclosed.

Similarly, on the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, N8,622,741,732 was set aside for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones. However, the area where projects worth N8,554,622,753 (out of the N8,622,741,732) were not mentioned.

Also, on the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, N12,055,872,158 was earmarked for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones. Sadly, the area where projects worth N4,382,888,112 (out of the N12,055,872,158) was not revealed.

Likewise, on the Federal Ministry of Justice, N33,860,593,566 was budgeted for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones. Surprisingly, the area where projects worth N25,742,716,841 (out of the N33,860,593,566) still needed to be identified.

On the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs, a total of N99,382,436,919 was budgeted for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones, according to the document. However, the area where projects worth N49,090,806,535 (out of the N99,382,436,919) were not mentioned.

Relatedly, on the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, N895,398,209,400 was budgeted for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones. Regrettably, the area where projects worth N124,131,394,058 (out of the N895,398,209,400) was not indicated.

Furthermore, on the Federal Ministry of Environment, a sum of N75,200,361,462 was allocated for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones. Unfortunately, the area where projects worth N55,278,212,086 (out of the N75,200,361,462) were located was not stated.

On the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals, N26,911,766,878 was pegged for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones. However, the area where projects worth N21,524,219,531 (out of the N26,911,766,878) were not disclosed.

On the Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, N4,893,877,166 was set aside for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones. But the area where projects worth N3,646,711,848 (out of the N4,893,877,166) was not mentioned.

On the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, N281,591,884,394 was budgeted for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones. Regrettably, the area where projects worth N54,120,180,977 (out of the N281,591,884,394) were not indicated.

On the Federal Ministry of Health, N539,413,163,575 was also earmarked for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones. Sadly, the area where projects worth N146,215,196,278 (out of the N539,413,163,575) were not revealed.

On the Federal Ministry of Works, N987,289,797,899 was allocated for various capital projects across the six geopolitical zones. Unfortunately, the area where projects worth N44,428,040,905 (out of the N987,289,797,899) were not stated.

According to Microxpressions Consult, the ministries must provide explicit declarations regarding these projects’ intended locations and scope in the interest of financial transparency and accountability.

It noted: “Establishing a stringent, location-specific allocation protocol is critical to ensuring that budgetary provisions translate into tangible, traceable developmental advancements.” (By PRNigeria)

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