The Federal Government spent N6.47tn on strategic infrastructure projects between June 2023 and December 2025, with major highway developments taking the largest share of the expenditure.
This was disclosed in the newly released Federal Government Nigeria Reform Scorecard on savings from fuel subsidy, titled “The Benefits, Costs and Harm Prevented.”
An analysis of the scorecard showed that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway received the highest allocation among the strategic infrastructure projects listed, with N2.23tn disbursed for its construction.
The Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway followed with N1.11tn, while N489.3bn was spent on the Trans-Sahara Superhighway. Combined, the three projects accounted for approximately N3.83tn, representing a substantial portion of the N6.47tn allocated to strategic infrastructure.
The report examined government spending between June 2023 and December 2025, following the economic reforms introduced by the administration. It showed that the Federal Government recorded N30.64tn in incremental expenditure during the period, with strategic infrastructure accounting for N6.47tn.
The government had earlier disclosed that the reforms, including the removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market, generated N15.8tn in additional resources for the Federation.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, explained that the savings did not appear as a separate item in the Federation Account but were reflected through increased revenue collections.
Oyedele said, “Between June 2023 and December 2025, subsidy savings mobilised a sum of N15.8tn in resources for the Federation. Many people will say, ‘Where is the subsidy saving?’ As a matter of fact, there wasn’t any line in the Federation Account with the description, ‘subsidy savings.’
“So, the subsidy savings showed up in the form of higher collection by Customs because, for every one dollar of import duty before, at N460, it became one dollar at N1,004, N1,003, N1,005. The NRS, Petroleum Profit Tax that it collected before, same dollar, higher amount in naira. So, the savings showed up in the Federation accounts by way of higher revenue collections as a result of the reforms.”
Further details from the scorecard showed that the N2.23tn committed to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway represented about 34 per cent of the total strategic infrastructure expenditure during the period.
The Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway received N1.11tn, while the Trans-Sahara Superhighway attracted N489.3bn. The government also spent N366bn on road emergency intervention projects and N304.2bn on Section II of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road.
Other projects and interventions captured in the scorecard included N291.3bn for the Lekki Deep Sea Port Access Road, N250bn for the Renewed Hope Smallholder Support programme and N228.4bn for the Ilesha-Akure-Benin road section.
The government further allocated N124.7bn to the construction of 1,550 housing units for Nigerian Armed Forces personnel, while N109.9bn went to Operation Lake Sanity, a multinational security operation.
The Ministry of Finance said the infrastructure spending was designed to tackle persistent obstacles to investment, productivity and economic expansion.
“The objective is to use improved fiscal capacity to address infrastructure constraints that limit investment, productivity and economic growth,” the report stated.
The spending occurred amid the Federal Government’s continued investment in major road and transport projects, even as rising debt service costs, wage adjustments and other recurrent obligations continued to put pressure on public finances.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, one of the administration’s major legacy projects, is designed to run along Nigeria’s southern coastline and link nine states upon completion.
The first 47.47km section in Lagos was reported to have been substantially completed, while construction was ongoing on a 28km dual carriageway in Ogun State, a 52km stretch in Ondo State and a 27km section in Calabar, alongside other sections in Akwa Ibom.
The initial 47km sections in Calabar and Akwa Ibom were said to be more than 60 per cent completed, while foundation work continued along the Ondo corridor and concrete pavement construction was underway in Ogun.
The coastal highway has nevertheless remained the subject of public debate, particularly over its cost, financing arrangements and the pace of government disbursements.
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The N2.23tn expenditure recorded for the project was more than double the N1.11tn spent on the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway and more than four times the N489.3bn allocated to the Trans-Sahara Superhighway.
Strategic infrastructure was only one component of the N30.64tn increase in government expenditure recorded during the 30-month period.
Wage adjustments accounted for the largest portion, at N9.39tn, while the foreign exchange impact on external debt servicing amounted to N9.37tn. Another N1.24tn was attributed to the effect of monetary policy decisions on domestic debt servicing.
Social welfare transfers stood at N424bn, while N419bn was allocated to interventions involving the Federal Capital Territory, Ecological Fund and Natural Resources. An additional N201bn was attributed to the increased naira cost of foreign obligations.
The scorecard also revealed that the Federal Government recorded N11.85tn in incremental borrowing during the period, underscoring the pressure on its finances.
The N9.39tn spent on wage adjustments was N2.92tn higher than the N6.47tn allocated to strategic infrastructure, a difference of approximately 45.1 per cent.
Similarly, the N9.37tn impact of foreign exchange movements on external debt servicing exceeded infrastructure spending by N2.90tn, or about 44.8 per cent.
Combined, wage adjustments and the foreign exchange impact on external debt service accounted for N18.76tn, representing roughly 61.2 per cent of the N30.64tn in incremental Federal Government expenditure during the period under review.