The Federal Government released a total sum of N1.23tn to 17 ministries for the implementation of capital projects aimed at advancing development and infrastructure initiatives as of September 30, 2023.
An analysis of the Budget Implementation Report for the third quarter of 2023 released by the Budget Office revealed this on Sunday.
Capital projects, in the context of budgeting, typically refer to major investments in physical infrastructure or assets that are expected to provide long-term benefits.
These projects usually involve the construction, acquisition, or renovation of tangible assets such as buildings, roads, bridges, dams, schools, hospitals, and other facilities.
The findings revealed that the amount disbursed was 75.4 per cent lower than the N5tn allocated for capital expenditure in the 2023 budget, resulting in a deficit of N3.8tn.
The report also showed that the ministries only utilised N962.87bn out of the cash backing of N1.23tn.
The report partly read, “The release of funds to MDAs for capital expenditure as at the third quarter of 2023 was done in tranches based on availability of resources and government priorities. Data from the OAGF on 2023 capital performance for MDAs as of 30th September 2023 showed that a total of N1.23tn was released to MDAs and cash-backed for 2023 capital projects and programmes.
“The sum of N351bn was released as the first Tranche, N331.92bn was the second Tranche and N208bn was the third Tranche. A total of N75.35bn was released as AlEs MDAs Budget and N261bn as AlEs Service Wide.”
It added that a breakdown of the 52 MDAS included in the report of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation indicated different levels of utilization.