The Federal Government spent N6.47tn on strategic infrastructure development between June 2023 and December 2025, with major highway projects accounting for more than half of the expenditure.
An analysis of the Federal Government’s Nigeria Reform Scorecard showed that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway received the highest allocation, with N2.23tn disbursed for its construction. The Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway received N1.11tn, while N489.3bn was paid for the Trans-Sahara Superhighway.
The three highway projects accounted for about N3.83tn, or nearly 59 per cent, of the N6.47tn infrastructure expenditure captured in the scorecard. Other major spending included N366bn for road emergency interventions, N304.2bn for the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road and N291.3bn for the Lekki Deep Sea Port Access Road.
The scorecard was part of a broader assessment of the impact of the economic reforms introduced by the Federal Government. It showed that incremental government expenditure reached N30.64tn during the period, while the removal of petrol subsidy and foreign exchange reforms mobilised N15.8tn in additional resources for the Federation.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, explained that the subsidy savings did not appear as a separate item in the Federation Account but were reflected through increased naira revenues from Customs, Petroleum Profit Tax and other collections following the exchange rate reforms.
The government said the infrastructure spending was aimed at addressing longstanding constraints to investment, productivity and economic growth. The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, one of the administration’s flagship projects, is expected to connect nine states along Nigeria’s southern coastline, although its cost, financing structure and rising government payments have generated public debate.
However, infrastructure was not the largest component of the additional expenditure. Wage adjustments accounted for N9.39tn, while the impact of foreign exchange movements on external debt service accounted for N9.37tn. Together, the two items consumed N18.76tn, representing about 61.2 per cent of the N30.64tn incremental expenditure, while the government also recorded N11.85tn in incremental borrowing.
