The Federal Government has set aside ₦962.83 billion for the purchase of Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and the implementation of empowerment projects in the 2026 Appropriation Act, despite growing concerns over Nigeria’s increasing debt profile and expanded borrowing plans.
The provision includes ₦15.13 billion for the acquisition of 39 SUVs and ₦947.70 billion for 2,579 empowerment projects nationwide.
An analysis of the 2026 budget by civic technology organisation Tracka showed that the amount allocated to the SUVs and empowerment programmes is higher than the combined ₦960.27 billion budgeted for seven key federal ministries.
According to the organisation, the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment received ₦156.8 billion, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development ₦145.3 billion, and the Ministry of Women Affairs ₦169.39 billion. The Ministry of Justice was allocated ₦150.7 billion, the Ministry of Livestock Development ₦177.6 billion, the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development ₦87.3 billion, while the Ministry of Petroleum Resources got ₦73.1 billion.
Tracka also raised concerns over what it described as poor transparency in the implementation of the empowerment schemes, revealing that only 70 of the 2,579 projects have clearly identified locations.
The organisation questioned how citizens and oversight institutions could effectively monitor projects without location details.
“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?” Tracka queried.
Its findings further indicated that the empowerment projects are distributed across 184 implementing agencies, including several institutions that do not ordinarily have mandates to execute such programmes.
Tracka disclosed that the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, was assigned 393 projects worth ₦127.1 billion, while the National Agricultural Development Fund received six projects valued at ₦89.5 billion.
The Federal College of Horticulture, Dadin-Kowa, Gombe State, was allocated 216 projects worth ₦88.1 billion, while the Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan, received 94 projects valued at ₦36.9 billion.
Further analysis showed that the largest single empowerment allocation is ₦89.09 billion for the Renewed Hope Fertiliser Support Programme under the National Agricultural Development Fund.
Other major provisions include ₦14 billion for the procurement and distribution of empowerment equipment and utility vehicles through the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, another ₦14 billion for youth empowerment under the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, and ₦14 billion for youth empowerment and medical outreach under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
The budget also makes provisions for buses, tricycles, motorcycles, electric vehicles, sewing machines, fertilisers, vocational equipment, grants and other empowerment items to be distributed through various agencies across the country.
While acknowledging the potential benefits of empowerment programmes, Tracka warned that poorly structured initiatives often become instruments of political patronage rather than genuine economic development.
“There is nothing inherently wrong with empowerment programmes. When well-designed and transparently implemented, they can improve livelihoods, create economic opportunities and support vulnerable Nigerians,” the organisation stated.
It added, however, that past experience suggests many poorly defined empowerment projects have served as channels for rewarding political allies instead of delivering broad public benefits.
“When projects have no clear location, no transparent beneficiary selection process, and are assigned to agencies without the appropriate mandate, public confidence is eroded, and accountability becomes difficult,” it added.
Tracka also linked its concerns to the Federal Government’s fiscal position, noting that the 2026 budget is expected to be financed with a deficit of about 46 per cent, meaning a significant share of government spending will rely on borrowing.
“This concern is even more pressing given that the 2026 Budget is projected to be financed with a deficit of about 46 per cent. At a time when government is borrowing heavily to fund public expenditure, every naira should be directed toward investments with clear development outcomes, measurable impact, and value for money, not opaque allocations that citizens cannot effectively track,” the organisation said.
The organisation urged the government to improve transparency in future budgets by ensuring that every project has a clearly defined purpose, location, implementing agency, identifiable beneficiaries and measurable outcomes.
The concerns come as the Federal Government recently increased its 2026 borrowing plan to ₦29.20 trillion from the earlier estimate of ₦17.89 trillion after raising the proposed budget to ₦68.32 trillion against projected revenues of ₦36.87 trillion, leaving a fiscal deficit of ₦31.46 trillion.
Economists have also criticised the spending pattern.
A Professor of Economics at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Sheriffdeen Tella, advised the government to ensure that empowerment programmes are tied to domestic production instead of imports.
“Any empowerment should be based on what we produce here. Spending empowerment money to import things simply means that the money is not here, it is not being used here, and it cannot have much positive impact on our economy,” he said.
Lagos-based economist Adewale Abimbola also described the allocation as a sign of weak fiscal prioritisation, arguing that greater investment in infrastructure and human capital would yield stronger long-term economic benefits.
“It shows a lack of prioritisation on the part of the Federal Government. It paints the Federal Government as a poor manager of financial resources,” Abimbola said.
He further stressed that empowerment programmes should be properly designed and transparently implemented to ensure they reach genuinely vulnerable Nigerians instead of becoming avenues for waste, abuse and political patronage.
