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Tracka Uncovers N8.6Bn Paid to ‘No-Show Contractors’ in FG’s 2022 Budget

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Tracka, BudgIT’s service delivery promotion platform, has said that it has uncovered N8.6 billion payments to twenty-six contractors for 19 projects across nine states that have either been abandoned or not done.

Tracka Uncovers N8.6Bn Paid to ‘No-Show Contractors’ in FG’s 2022 Budget

Some of these projects, according to platform, include the payment of N542 million to Abu-Halawa International Limited between December 2020 and April 2023 under the Federal Ministry of Water Resources for the Construction of Jare Earth Dam in Katsina. Nothing has been done on the site to date.

The payment of N630 million to Babar Global Services Nigeria Ltd and Foundation Solid (NIG) LTD between July 2022 and September 2023 under the Federal Ministry of Water Resources for the Construction of the Ogbese Multi-Purpose Dam Project, Ekiti.

This site has been abandoned since 2021. And the payment of N400 million to Laralek Ultimate Ltd in March 2023 under the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing for the Limited Rehabilitation of Opo Malu Road, Saki, Oyo State.

The contractor for this site has never reported to the site to date.

A statement by Ayomide Ladipo, head, Tracka disclosed that these and other payments for non-executed projects were uncovered in the 2022 Project Tracking Report themed “Empowering Communities for Economic Growth.” The report reviews Tracka’s work and documents findings from the 3,691 projects monitored across 22 states in Nigeria between August 2022 and August 2023. Of these projects, 2,037 were completed, 1,012 are ongoing, 533 were unexecuted, and 109 have been abandoned as of the time of filing this report.

Under Capital Projects, Kebbi had the highest completion rate at 76%, Oyo had the lowest at 25%, and Taraba had the highest rate of abandoned projects at 27%. Regarding Constituency Projects, Bauchi had the highest completion rate with 97%, Oyo had the lowest with 28%, while Nasarawa, with 23%, had the highest rate of abandoned projects. The report also gives an overview of the implementation of 2022 Constituency and Capital projects across 15 states and highlights pertinent needs and abandoned projects across them.

Gabriel Okeowo, country director, BudgIT, expressed displeasure over contractors’ non-execution of commissioned projects. “Despite the clamor for increased allocations to capital expenditure by FG and subnationals, our tracking exercise has revealed that capital projects are the largest conduits of embezzlement and misappropriation. Lack of effective oversight on the part of the legislators and Ministries, Department, and Agencies has largely contributed to the high level of poor project execution and, in some cases, outright abandonment of projects.”

He reiterated the above while addressing the report’s findings, adding that “Governments at all levels need to take public project execution more seriously, considering the huge infrastructure gaps we are grappling with as a nation. We also hope that the new administration of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will find a way to block these loopholes and leakages; if not, our expenditure will amount to pouring water into a basket.”

“We call on the anti-graft agencies (the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC) to question and probe these misappropriations in the 2022 budget expenditures and prosecute erring contractors. We also call on elected representatives to pay attention to the needs of their constituents and abandoned projects highlighted in the report, as they serve as pointers to where public funds should be directed to ensure efficient use of scarce public resources.”

The report can be downloaded here: https://www.tracka.ng/#/downloads/home


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FG May Forfeits $4m from World Bank Loan over Audit Flop

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Federal government may lose $4 million from a World Bank loan after failing to get a pass mark on key audit standards in its revenue-generating agencies, such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Customs Service.

FG May Forfeits $4m from World Bank Loan over Audit Flop

This is according to a World Bank restructuring paper dated June 2025.

The amount, which is the equivalent of around N6.2 billion with an exchange rate of N1,568 per dollar, could have helped to address one of Nigeria’s infrastructural deficits.

The fund formed part of the $103 million Fiscal Governance and Institutions Project, a public financial management initiative financed through a credit facility from the International Development Association.

Accordingly, the revenue assurance audit covering the FIRS and Customs for the 2018 to 2021 financial years was assessed as not achieved because the reports submitted did not meet international auditing standards.

“Revenue assurance audit of Main Income Generating Agencies, including the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigeria Customs Service for FY 2018–2021, with an allocation of $4m.

“These Intermediate Results to be implemented by the Office of Auditor-General of the Federation were assessed as not achieved by the Independent Verification Agent because the reports submitted for verification did not meet the requisite international auditing standards.”

Also, the unsuccessful audit was one of ten performance-based conditions under the project that the government could not deliver before the closing date of June 30, 2025. Consequently, the Federal Ministry of Finance formally requested the cancellation of $10.4 million in project funds.

“The FMF has requested cancellation of $0.9m of unused funds for technical assistance and $9.5m, which is the amount allocated to 10 performance-based conditions, which will not be achieved by the close of the project on June 30, 2025,” the document read.

Further analysis shows that $4.5 million was tied to the uncompleted Revenue Assurance and Billing System, while $1 million was allocated to the development of a National Budget Portal.

According to the document, the Budget Office of the Federation, which was responsible for the portal, did not submit any evidence of achievement. In addition, $0.9 million in technical assistance funding was left uncommitted and has also been cancelled.


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CDCFIB Warns against Recruitment Racketeers

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Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB) has warned job seekers to be wary of fraudsters circulating inappropriate recruitment information.

CDCFIB Warns against Recruitment Racketeers

The warning came against the backdrop of social media publications that President Bola Tinubu has ordered massive recruitments into some government agencies.

The agencies listed in the report were the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS); the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC); the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) and the Federal Fire Service (FFS)..

The agencies are all under the Ministry of Interior, headed by Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

However, while responding to the reports, the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB) cautioned Nigerians against falling into the traps of job racketeers.

The Board acknowledged a Presidential approval for the recruitment of personnel in the four (4) Paramilitary Services under its purview, but insisted that due process would be followed on the matter.

Major Gen. Abdulmalik Jibrin (rtd), board secretary, said in a statement that “there are series of processes which leads to the actual recruitment exercise.”

“The Board wishes to reiterate that for all its recruitment processes, appropriate notifications would be done via adverts in the national dailies and it would be carried out in a fair and transparent process devoid of payment of any fee.

“To this effect, members of the public should be weary of the activities of recruitment racketeers who may want to take advantage of unsuspecting job seekers to rob them of their hard-earned resources”, Gen Jibrin said.


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Concerned Nigerians Ask EFCC  to Release Abiodun, CBEX Promoter

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Adefowora Abiodun, one of the alleged promoters of the CBEX investment scheme, who voluntarily surrendered to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in April following a ruling by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, is still languishing in the custody of the anti-corruption agency.

Concerned Nigerians Ask EFCC  to Release Abiodun, CBEX Promoter

Adefowora Abiodun, one of the alleged promoters of the CBEX investment scheme,

Concerned Nigerians who have been following the matter have urged the EFCC to release him unconditionally since he honoured their invitation without being arrested.

The court had approved the EFCC’s request to arrest and detain six individuals connected to the scheme, including Abiodun.

Alongside Abiodun, five other individuals—Adefowora Oluwanisola, Emmanuel Uko, Seyi Oloyede, Avwerosuo Otorudo, and Chukwuebuka Ehirim—were declared wanted by the EFCC for their involvement in the alleged fraudulent investment scheme, which was valued at over $1 billion.

Fadila Yusuf, EFCC’s legal counsel, had submitted evidence that led to their public declaration as wanted individuals.

After the announcement, Abiodun, who was shocked by the declaration, alongside his legal team, presented himself to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, expressing his willingness to cooperate with the investigation.

Babatunde Busari, his legal counsel, explained that Abiodun’s decision to submit voluntarily was made in order to clear his name and address the media narratives circulating about the case.

Despite the return of investor funds and CBEX’s assurance that withdrawals would be allowed by June 25, Abiodun has been in detention for over a month, triggering speculation about the EFCC’s high-handedness and rights abuse.

His legal team is now advocating for his release on administrative bail, emphasizing that the ongoing detention is unwarranted under the circumstances since he submitted himself for investigation.

According to one of the family sources, “Keeping him in a cell for over one month would send a negative signal to other Nigerians who would be declared wanted by the EFCC in the future. It would discourage Nigerians who have clear cases from surrendering themselves voluntarily to security agencies if, at the end of the day, they don’t receive mutual respect for surrendering themselves.”

He added that CBEX is not a Ponzi scheme.

Reacting to the agitation by concerned Nigerians, Dele Oyewole , EFCC spokesman hinted that the agency obtained a remand order to keep him beyond 48 hours.

According to him, “Anybody that we are holding beyond 48 hours, be rest assured that we have a lawful remand order from the magistrate court to hold him beyond 48 hours.

“We are a law-abiding commission. Concerning that suspect, we are holding him on the basis of that remand order.”

 

 


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