Thursday August 21, 2025
By The NewsDESK |
The Federal Government has approved over ₦163 billion for Zonal Intervention Projects (ZIPs) in the 2025 budget, with allocations spread across States and key priority sectors, according to budget data released by the Budget Office of the Federation and analysed by the civil group, Tracka.
The ₦54.99 trillion 2025 federal budget, presented by President Bola Tinubu and passed by the National Assembly in December 2024, seeks to balance infrastructure investment, social spending, and fiscal consolidation.
A key component of the budget is the ZIPs, popularly referred to as Constituency Projects, which allow lawmakers to nominate projects in their constituencies to address grassroots needs.
In recent years, ZIPs have sparked debates over transparency, equity, and accountability, with critics arguing that they are often poorly executed, serve political patronage, and do not align with the Federal Government’s broader development agenda.
Despite these concerns, allocations for ZIPs have continued to rise, underscoring their political importance.
The latest figures show wide disparities in allocations by state and a heavy concentration of spending on empowerment initiatives.
The data also reflected the disparities in allocations among states, which is often a reflection of the bargaining power and influence of lawmakers in the National Assembly, rather than objective developmental needs.
For instance, while Ogun and Kano command multi-billion allocations, states like Yobe, Zamfara, and Taraba are at the lower rung with allocations between ₦1.5 billion and ₦1.6 billion.
Among the States, Ogun State received the highest allocation with ₦8.44 billion, followed by Kano State with ₦6.46 billion, and Akwa Ibom with ₦5.34 billion.
Other top recipients include Abia with ₦4.50 billion, Kaduna got ₦4.27 billion, and Gombe got ₦3.86 billion.
At the lower end, States such as Jigawa, Katsina, and Sokoto were each allocated ₦1.42 billion, while the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) received the least with ₦1.10 billion.
Also, a breakdown of the ZIP allocations by sector shows that empowerment projects take the lion’s share with ₦35.42 billion, representing more than one-fifth of the total ZIP allocation.
These projects typically include the distribution of items like motorcycles, sewing machines, and cash grants.
Agriculture ranks second with ₦27.33 billion, while solar energy projects take third place with ₦10.6 billion.
Education and health were allocated ₦10.2 billion and ₦7.85 billion, respectively, while road projects got ₦5.06 billion.
Water projects received ₦4.28 billion, with electricity projects trailing at ₦1.18 billion.
