The Federal Government spent N6.47tn on strategic infrastructure projects between June 2023 and December 2025, with major highway developments taking the biggest share of the spending. According to the government’s newly released Nigeria Reform Scorecard, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway alone received N2.23tn, accounting for about 34 per cent of the total infrastructure expenditure during the period.
The Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway followed with N1.11tn, while N489.3bn was spent on the Trans-Sahara Superhighway. Together, the three major highway projects gulped about N3.83tn, representing more than half of the N6.47tn allocated to strategic infrastructure. Other notable spending included N366bn for road emergency interventions and N304.2bn for the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road, Section II.
The infrastructure spending formed part of a much larger N30.64tn in additional Federal Government expenditure recorded during the 30-month period. Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said economic reforms, including the removal of the petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market, helped mobilise N15.8tn in additional resources for the Federation. He explained that the savings did not appear as a separate item but reflected higher revenue collections in areas such as Customs and petroleum-related taxes.
Beyond highways, the government also channelled N291.3bn into the Lekki Deep Sea Port Access Road, N250bn into the Renewed Hope Smallholder Support programme and N228.4bn into the Ilesha-Akure-Benin road section. A further N124.7bn went towards constructing 1,550 housing units for Nigerian Armed Forces personnel, while N109.9bn was spent on Operation Lake Sanity. The Finance Ministry said the interventions were designed to tackle infrastructure gaps that have continued to hold back investment, productivity and economic growth.
However, the figures also highlight the growing pressure on government finances. Of the N30.64tn incremental expenditure, N9.39tn went to wage adjustments, while another N9.37tn reflected the impact of foreign exchange movements on external debt service. Together, the two items consumed N18.76tn, or about 61.2 per cent of the additional spending. With incremental borrowing also reaching N11.85tn, the government’s infrastructure push comes at a time when it is balancing the need for development with rising debt and recurrent expenditure pressures.
source: punch
