Mr Ben Akabueze, former Director-General of the Budget Office, revealed that over 56,000 government projects in Nigeria remain unfinished, highlighting a major gap in public finance management.
Akabueze said this on Monday at a policy dialogue organised by the National Assembly’s Joint Committees on National Planning and Economic Development in Abuja.
He stated that Nigeria’s primary challenge is the persistent weakness in implementing ambitious development plans, which has led to widespread project abandonment.
He emphasised that the challenge lies in turning good plans into completed, impactful projects.
Despite multi-layered planning, implementation remains inconsistent, often working in silos and misaligning spending with outcomes.
These frameworks sometimes operate in silos, leading to spending that is misaligned with outcomes.
Countries that grow consistently align budgets with policy goals and results.
Akabueze identified key factors affecting budget performance, including weak institutional coordination, revenue shortfalls, and rising debt service obligations, which limit funds for capital projects.
Delays, inefficiencies, and new administrations disrupt projects.
These issues result in government spending that rarely achieves project completion or services for citizens.
To address these gaps, Akabueze urged the adoption of results-based budgeting, which ties government spending to measurable outcomes.
This approach aims to link national goals with project delivery and enforce accountability. Akabueze also recommended the enactment of an Organic Budget Law to strengthen the connection between planning and budgeting, improve project design and costing, and enhance revenue mobilisation.
He also called for the digitisation of public financial management systems to improve transparency. Akabueze noted progress in capital, infrastructure, and security spending for 2026.
He warned that revenue forecasts, especially oil earnings, require careful management to avoid new challenges. Policy consistency, budget discipline, timely funding, and legislative oversight are essential.
He called for consistent project execution across administrations to maximise government investment, emphasising that closing the gap between planning and execution is vital to the efficient use of resources and to delivering measurable benefits to citizens.