…Borno, Ondo, Niger Account For Largest Disbursement Gaps
…Report Flags Low Completion Rates, Poor Primary Healthcare Infrastructure
Daud Olatunji
A fresh report by civic accountability organisation Tracka has raised concerns over the release of ₦13.86bn for public projects across Nigeria without corresponding visible evidence of implementation at monitored sites.
The report, contained in Tracka’s second-quarter 2026 scorecard, warned that the findings pointed to a significant gap between government expenditure and the delivery of public infrastructure, raising questions about project supervision, expenditure tracking and accountability.
Tracka monitored 944 public projects across 29 states and the Federal Capital Territory between April and June 2026.
The projects had a combined allocation of ₦1.497tn, while ₦608.99bn had been disbursed, according to the report.
However, physical inspections revealed that only 225 projects, representing 23.8 per cent of those monitored, had been completed.
Another 254 projects, or 26.9 per cent, were ongoing, while 109 projects, representing 11.5 per cent, had not commenced. Thirty-three projects, accounting for 3.5 per cent, had been abandoned.
The organisation identified ₦13.86bn in disbursements without matching visible implementation, describing the situation as a warning sign of what it called a “payment-without-delivery” problem.
“When disbursement outpaces visible work this dramatically, it is a signal of payment-without-delivery,” Tracka stated.
The report, however, did not establish that the money had been stolen or misappropriated, stressing the need for further investigation into the discrepancies between payments and the state of projects on the ground.
Borno State accounted for the largest share of the identified disbursement gap, with ₦4.98bn released without visible implementation. Ondo State followed with ₦2.03bn, while Niger State recorded ₦1bn.
Tracka identified Borno and Ondo among the states where weak project performance coincided with substantial gaps between disbursements and visible implementation.
It warned that the figures should not be dismissed as isolated project delays, calling instead for direct investigations into the affected projects and the processes through which public funds were released.
The scorecard also highlighted significant differences in project completion rates across the states monitored.
Kwara State recorded a completion rate of 46.7 per cent, while Lagos State had only three per cent of its tracked projects completed.
Ondo recorded a completion rate of 6.1 per cent, while Adamawa and Benue states recorded 6.7 per cent each. Abia State had a completion rate of 9.7 per cent.
Tracka described the pattern as a “completion crisis” among the affected states.
The report further showed that 66.7 per cent of the projects monitored in Lagos remained ongoing, suggesting that a substantial proportion of the tracked projects had yet to reach completion during the reporting period.
Adamawa, Niger and Taraba states each recorded 43.3 per cent of their projects in the ongoing category, while Nasarawa recorded 40.6 per cent.
The findings have renewed questions about the effectiveness of public project monitoring and the mechanisms used to ensure that government spending translates into completed infrastructure and services.
Tracka maintained that budget performance should not be measured solely by the amount allocated or released but by the extent to which the expenditure produces tangible benefits for citizens.
Beyond general infrastructure, the report highlighted concerns about the condition of primary healthcare facilities assessed during the monitoring exercise.
Nationally, 183 primary healthcare centres were rated “good”, while 167 were classified as “bad”.
Benue State recorded the most concerning figures among the states highlighted, with only one primary healthcare centre rated good against 11 rated bad. This meant that just 8.3 per cent of the facilities assessed in the state received a positive rating.
Plateau State recorded a positive rating for 16.7 per cent of its assessed facilities, while Ondo recorded 18.2 per cent.
The findings raised concerns about the state of healthcare infrastructure in communities where residents depend on primary healthcare centres for essential medical services.
Poorly maintained or inadequately equipped facilities can undermine access to basic healthcare, particularly for rural and underserved populations.
To address the identified gaps, Tracka urged the relevant authorities to investigate disbursements without visible implementation through public expenditure tracking surveys and physical inspections of project sites.
It specifically called for investigations into the gaps identified in Lagos, Borno and Abia states, alongside further scrutiny of the processes used to verify project execution before and after public funds are released.
The organisation also recommended urgent rehabilitation of primary healthcare centres in Benue, Plateau and Ondo states.
Tracka said its monitoring teams physically visited project locations, interviewed community members, consulted traditional leaders, took photographs of project sites and reviewed publicly available budget and expenditure records during the April-to-June reporting period.
The methodology was intended to compare official expenditure records with the actual state of projects on the ground.
The findings underscore the importance of independent verification, transparent procurement processes and effective supervision in ensuring that public funds deliver the services and infrastructure for which they were approved.
For the affected communities, the central question remains whether the money released for public projects will translate into completed roads, functional facilities and improved access to essential services.
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