Nigeria’s Budget Should Build Lives, Not Fund Luxury – ActionAid

ActionAid Nigeria has called on the Federal Government and state governments to redirect public spending from what it described as “prestige projects” and excessive government luxuries to investments that directly improve the lives of Nigerians, saying the country’s limited resources should be deployed to sectors with the greatest social impact.

The organisation made the call on Sunday while reacting to President Bola Tinubu’s recent directive to state governors to stop constructing unnecessary flyovers in areas without traffic congestion and instead focus on projects that address the needs of citizens.

In a statement signed by its Country Director, Dr. Andrew Mamedu, ActionAid Nigeria said the President’s comments should spark a broader national debate on public finance and the need to prioritise people-centred development over projects driven by political visibility.

According to the organisation, while infrastructure remains important, Nigeria’s challenge lies in a pattern of public expenditure that often favours prestige over citizens’ welfare.

It noted that with millions of Nigerians grappling with economic hardship, every naira of public funds should deliver measurable benefits.

ActionAid therefore urged governments at all levels to review spending on projects and activities it considers to have limited public value, including unnecessary prestige projects, luxury acquisitions, oversized official delegations, excessive local and foreign travel, and discretionary expenditures that lack transparency and accountability.

The organisation cited figures from the Budget Office of the Federation showing that President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima are proposed to receive a combined ₦9.36 billion in the 2026 budget for local travel, foreign travel, food and refreshments.

It, however, observed that the allocation does not necessarily represent the total cost of official trips, noting that expenses for accompanying officials and operational support are often captured separately in the budgets of other government agencies.

ActionAid argued that reducing the proposed allocation by half would free about ₦4.68 billion, which could be redirected to critical public services.

It estimated that such savings could finance approximately 62 three-classroom school blocks, 208 solar-powered boreholes and five fully equipped primary healthcare centres, based on recently published government project costs.

Mamedu said Nigeria’s budget should reflect the country’s development priorities rather than government extravagance.

“This is not merely a question of reducing expenditure; it is about changing national priorities. Every unnecessary luxury purchase represents classrooms that were never built. Every unjustifiable trip represents medicines that never reached a primary healthcare centre.

“Every unaccounted security vote represents communities that continue to live in fear without knowing how public resources intended for their protection were spent. Every prestige project that fails to address citizens’ needs represents another missed opportunity to reduce poverty and inequality. Public budgets are moral documents. They reveal whose interests governments choose to protect,” he said.

The organisation maintained that Nigeria’s development challenge is not the absence of resources but the choices governments make in allocating them.

It called on federal and state governments to prioritise spending on quality education, primary healthcare, water and sanitation, food security, climate resilience and social protection.

ActionAid also urged authorities to reduce the cost of governance by cutting unnecessary official travel, luxury purchases and oversized government delegations, while strengthening transparency and accountability in discretionary public spending, including security-related expenditure without compromising national security.

The organisation further advocated that infrastructure projects should be selected based on evidence, community needs and measurable development outcomes rather than political considerations, while calling for greater citizen participation in budget planning, implementation and monitoring.

It stressed that the true measure of governance is not the number of monuments erected but the number of lives transformed through improved education, healthcare, safe water, decent livelihoods and opportunities for citizens.