Former Governor of Adamawa State,Boni Haruna has blamed Nigeria’s widening infrastructure deficit on policy inconsistency and the abandonment of projects by successive administrations rather than a lack of funding.
Haruna made the remark on Thursday in Abuja while delivering a goodwill message on the second day of the 2026 Infrastructure Dialogue themed, “Building Nigeria’s Future: The Strategic Role of DFIs and Capital Markets in Infrastructure Financing and Economic Development.”
The former governor lamented what he described as a culture of discontinuity in governance, where incoming administrations abandon projects initiated by their predecessors for political reasons.
“Infrastructure takes time to evolve. There are many abandoned projects in the country because successive governments often execute different projects from their predecessors,” he said.
Haruna called for the introduction of laws that would make continuity on major national projects compulsory for future governments.
“Once a project passes Federal Executive Council and National Assembly approval, it should be binding. Some countries like South Africa succeeded because their programmes are backed by essential laws, not just policy,” he stated.
He also urged the government to shield technical institutions such as the Bank of Industry from political interference.
Also speaking at the event, the Managing Partner of Deutsche Partners Holdings and convener of the dialogue, Onuoha Nnachi, identified contract inflation as a major obstacle to infrastructure development in Nigeria.
Nnachi recounted a 21-year-old experience involving a power project whose estimated value allegedly rose from N6.2bn to N26bn during the approval process, while mobilisation fees increased from 15 per cent to 50 per cent.
“Contract overpricing is cancerous to Nigeria’s infrastructure. I can use a soil type definition to increase the cost of a one-kilometre road from two billion to five billion naira, and there is nothing you can do about it,” he said.
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He stressed the need for prudent financial management and coordinated national planning to address the country’s infrastructure challenges.
Nnachi also praised Abdullahi Sule for attracting over two billion dollars in foreign direct investment into Nasarawa State through transparent leadership and fiscal discipline.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director for Small and Medium Enterprises at the Bank of Industry, Toyin Edu, said government revenue alone could no longer bridge Nigeria’s infrastructure funding gap.
Edu disclosed that the BOI had secured board approval to pursue a one billion dollar syndicated loan in phases to support infrastructure financing across the country.
“Infrastructure is the backbone of our economic success. We are currently partnering with telecom giants to deploy fibre optic cables and working on port projects to facilitate trade,” he said.
The dialogue continues with panel sessions involving capital market experts and development finance institutions focused on mobilising domestic savings for national economic growth.