Zainab Abioye
The Ogun State Government has recorded zero expenditure on the planned upgrade of 80 primary healthcare centres, provision of boreholes and solar power systems, and procurement of 100 ambulances, despite allocating billions of naira for the projects in the 2026 budget.
The development is contained in the state’s Second Quarter 2026 Budget Implementation Report, which showed that only ₦1.01bn, representing 2.14 per cent of the ₦47.21bn allocated to primary healthcare projects, had been utilised as of June 30.
The figure means that more than ₦46bn, or over 97 per cent of the primary healthcare allocation, remained unutilised at the end of the second quarter.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that the affected projects include some of the major interventions listed by the state government to improve healthcare infrastructure and access to basic medical services across Ogun.
According to the report, the government budgeted ₦6.70bn for the revitalisation and upgrading of 80 primary healthcare centres across the state.
However, no expenditure had been recorded against the allocation as of the end of June.
Similarly, the government recorded zero spending on the ₦4.30bn allocated for the provision of boreholes fitted with solar power and inverters for 80 PHCs.
The situation was the same for the ₦1.18bn earmarked for the provision of 81 solar inverters, as well as the ₦5.44bn budgeted for the procurement of 100 ambulances.
The non-utilisation of the funds means that several projects designed to address basic infrastructure and equipment needs at primary healthcare facilities had not recorded financial implementation halfway through the 2026 fiscal year.
The state government did not dispute the low implementation rate.
Rather, it described the performance of the primary healthcare component of the budget as “not impressive” in its second-quarter implementation report.
It, however, explained that the low performance was linked to the timing of access to funds earmarked for the projects.
The government expressed optimism that implementation would improve in subsequent quarters once the funds became accessible.
The explanation notwithstanding, the figures have highlighted a significant gap between the state’s budgetary commitments to primary healthcare and actual expenditure during the first six months of the year.
The development is particularly important for communities that rely on government-owned PHCs for basic healthcare services, including maternal and child health services, immunisation, emergency care and treatment of common ailments.
The report does not indicate that the allocations for the affected projects had been cancelled.
Instead, it projects improved implementation in subsequent quarters, leaving the third and fourth-quarter reports to determine whether the state will substantially increase spending before the end of the fiscal year.
The low implementation rate also raises questions about the pace of fund releases, procurement procedures, project readiness and the ability of relevant government agencies to execute the projects within the 2026 budget cycle.
With only 2.14 per cent of the ₦47.21bn allocation utilised by June, the government would need to significantly accelerate implementation during the remaining months of the year to deliver the projects for which the funds were appropriated.
The third-quarter budget implementation figures are therefore expected to provide a clearer picture of whether the government’s assurance of improved implementation is translating into actual expenditure and projects on the ground.
For now, the state’s own records show that 80 PHC upgrades, boreholes for 80 PHCs, 81 solar inverters and 100 ambulances had attracted no recorded expenditure by the end of the second quarter, despite their inclusion in the 2026 budget.
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