How uneven funds allocation mar zonal constituency projects in Nigeria- UDEME

Ogun and Akwa Ibom states have emerged as the top beneficiaries of Zonal Intervention Projects (ZIP) in the 2025 fiscal year.

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Every year, since its inception in 1999, the federal government allocates N100 billion naira for the ZIPs, also known as constituency projects, enabling federal lawmakers to facilitate infrastructural projects and social services for their constituents.

An analysis of the approved 2025 ZIP budget by UDEME, a social accountability initiative of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), captured the total value of projects facilitated by each of Nigeria’s 469 federal lawmakers—109 senators and 360 representatives.

This is made up of three senators and ten representatives from each of the 36 states, as well as two representatives and a senator from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Lawmakers from Ogun State led the list with projects worth N8.44 billion, followed closely by their colleagues from Kano (N6.46 billion) and Akwa Ibom (N5.34 billion). Abia and Kaduna received projects worth N4.50 billion and N4.27 billion, respectively, to close the list of top 5 beneficiaries.

On the lower end of the list, Zamfara lawmakers attracted projects valued at N1.52 billion, followed by Sokoto (N1.42 billion), Katsina (N1.42 billion) and Jigawa (N1.42 billion), while the FCT’s three lawmakers facilitated projects worth N1.10 billion.

The uneven distribution of funding for Zonal Intervention Projects across these states underlines the power dynamics among lawmakers in the National Assembly. Hardly is the list of top 5 beneficiaries a coincidence. It is the evidence of the political influence of the principal officers of the National Assembly and how proximity to power often dictates who gets what.

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Analysis by UDEME shows that each of the top 5 states is home to a principal officer of the National Assembly: Godswill Akpabio from Akwa Ibom (Senate President), Jibrin Barau from Kano (Deputy Senate President), Tajudeen Abbas from Kaduna (Speaker), Benjamin Kalu from Abia (Deputy Speaker), and Olamilekan Solomon from Ogun (Chairman of Senate Committee on Appropriations), who is responsible for budgeting and fiscal allocations.

In 2024, the five states also received high-value ZIPs, emphasizing the influence of these lawmakers in the National Assembly. Mr Olamilekan’s Ogun State received projects worth N6.64 billion, while Akwa Ibom State got N5.13 billion, with projects worth N4.14 billion going to Mr Akpabio’s senatorial district, according to a report by PREMIUM TIMES.

Projects worth N4.17 billion went to Kano State, where Mr Barau represents; Mr Kalu attracted projects worth N4.56 billion to Abia State, just as Mr Abbas pooled projects worth N1.72 billion to Kaduna State.

This situation explains the intense lobbying and maneuvering that has become typical of the election of principal officers of the National Assembly. Beyond this contest for titles, it is a battle for the power to decide who gets what—and how much of it.

A breakdown of the budget also showed projects allocated to various sectors of the economy under respective ministries and departments.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security received the lion share with projects worth N51.1 billion, followed by the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology with projects worth N11.7 billion.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment was assigned projects worth N7.37 billion, N4.95 billion to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), and N4.10 billion to the Ministry of Education.

The Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy led the least five beneficiaries with projects worth N77.9 million, the Ministry of Justice at N79.6 million, Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) at N100 million each, while the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace got projects worth N111 million.

ZIPs were designed to facilitate equitable distribution of resources and extend development to grassroots communities, but over the years, they have come under public scrutiny for failing to meet community needs.

Since its launch in 2018, UDEME has uncovered numerous cases of uncompleted, poorly implemented, or abandoned health facilities, roads, boreholes, schools, and water projects facilitated under the purview of the ZIPs.

Most of this has been largely linked to corruption, weak accountability mechanisms, and a lack of transparency in project selection and procurement processes, which has continued to derail citizens’ trust. In some cases, these projects are used as horse-trading tools by politicians to serve their support base and further their political ambitions.

New guideline to enhance project implementation

In a bid to address these challenges, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) released a new set of guidelines to enhance the implementation of ZIPs.

The guideline directed that all Zonal Intervention or Constituency Projects (ZIP/CP) must be duly certified and approved by the Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs before funds are released to contractors.

In line with its oversight mandate, the ministry said it had verified and certified at least 110 ZIPs nationwide. These projects, detailed in its 3rd Quarter Progress Report, include school renovations, agricultural empowerment schemes, healthcare programmes and the installation of streetlights and boreholes.

The ministry also announced the deployment of Project Management and Geographic Information Systems (PMIS-GIS) to enable real-time monitoring and documentation of both ZIPs and projects approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

Uneven distribution of constituency projects unfortunate

Meanwhile civil society has condemned the uneven distribution of constituency projects across states. Ijeoma Okereke-Adagba, project manager at UDEME, who described the situation as unfortunate, said it was a setback to the equitable development that the concept of constituency projects stands for.

“It is unfortunate that development in a country as populous as Nigeria is now dependent on winner-takes-it-all politics and powerplay. Else, there is absolutely no reason why certain states should be allocated more projects and more funds than others, with no clear development indices or conditions, other than the position of their lawmakers as principal officers at the National Assembly,” she said.

Mrs Okereke-Adagba, however, hailed the government’s adoption of tech solutions to support transparency and accountability in the execution of these critical national projects.

“We must commend the federal government for coming up with the technological initiative to ensure accountability and transparency for ZIPs in Nigeria, considering the fact that for so long CSOs have called for better monitoring strategies to be put in place,” she said.

Mrs Okereke-Adagba also called for more attention to some systemic issues that have frustrated the intent and purpose of these projects over the years.

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“Billions of money are spent annually on incomplete and abandoned projects, contractors who fail the due diligence test are awarded contracts. Even when the ICPC has advised that these contractors be blacklisted, they continue to receive money to carry out projects. Projects are nominated and awarded to contractors without a needs assessment, while people are suffering from failure to prioritise urgent needs.

“So yes, while we commend the government for the new initiative, we must critically examine these underlying issues and address them. If not, all the efforts to improve ZIP implementation for the benefit of the citizens will be a total waste of time.”