State governments recorded at least N435.25 billion in revenue from a relatively new Federation Account Allocation Committee intervention for infrastructure and security between January and June 2026, according to available half-year budget implementation reports covering 29 states.
The intervention is recorded in state financial documents as “State Infrastructure and Security” under the National Chart of Accounts code 11010313. Unlike conventional statutory FAAC allocations, the funding is separately identified for infrastructure and security purposes but distributed as regular FAAC revenue. No amount was recorded under the intervention during the corresponding period of 2025.
An analysis of Q1 and Q2 budget performance reports covering January to June 2026, obtained from Open Nigerian States, a BudgIT-backed platform that serves as a repository for government budget data, showed the scale of the funding received by the states.
The additional revenue comes at a time when state governments are under mounting pressure to address insecurity and infrastructure deficits, including kidnapping, banditry, attacks on schools and communities, poor roads and other critical infrastructure gaps.
Between March 2024 and May 2026, no fewer than 603 pupils, students and teachers were abducted in seven mass school abductions, despite the government’s N145 billion Safe Schools Initiative.
Efforts by the Federal Government to tackle the security crisis have included the expansion of the Nigerian Army from eight to 12 divisions and approval for the recruitment of 28,000 additional soldiers. The continued security challenges have, however, placed further demands on state governments to increase their own investment in security and critical infrastructure.
Following the removal of the petrol subsidy, President Bola Tinubu approved the Infrastructure Support Fund for the 36 states in July 2023. The initiative was intended to strengthen the ability of state governments to invest in roads, agriculture, health, education, power, water and other critical areas.
A June 2025 report by The PUNCH disclosed that state governments and the Federal Capital Territory had received a combined N1.6 trillion between March 2024 and May 2025 for infrastructure and security projects. Three years after the presidential approval, the funding has become an additional revenue stream for subnational governments as they meet their financial obligations.
Of the 32 states for which information was available in the reviewed reports, 16 specifically recorded a combined N265.50 billion under the dedicated State Infrastructure and Security revenue line.
Another 13 states disclosed a combined N169.75 billion under other FAAC-related revenue headings, although their reports did not directly identify the funds as infrastructure and security revenue.
Taken together, the identifiable receipts from the 29 states amounted to N435.25 billion.
Adamawa, Anambra and Oyo recorded no actual receipts under the dedicated infrastructure and security revenue line during the period. Adamawa and Anambra had nevertheless made budgetary provisions for the item, while Oyo had projected an N8 billion allocation.
Akwa Ibom was also among the 32 states reviewed, but its available half-year report did not disclose an amount for the infrastructure and security revenue component.
Four other states — Bayelsa, Edo, Osun and Rivers — were excluded because the available dataset did not contain the required information for them.
Dedicated infrastructure and security receipts were clearly reported by Bauchi, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Kwara, Ogun, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe. Several other states, however, disclosed substantial sums under different FAAC-related revenue classifications.
The different reporting classifications suggest that the total amount reaching states through the special funding window may be higher than the N435.25 billion identifiable from the available accounts.
Enugu recorded the highest cumulative receipt among the states that separately identified the dedicated revenue, with N27.02 billion, followed by Gombe with N24.50 billion.
Jigawa, Katsina and Ogun each recorded N19.50 billion, while Cross River and Yobe received N17.50 billion apiece. Borno reported N16.41 billion, while Bauchi recorded N14.58 billion.
Ebonyi, Imo, Kano, Kwara and Taraba each reported N14 billion, while Sokoto recorded N12.50 billion. Kogi had the lowest receipt among the 16 states with actual dedicated allocations, at N7 billion.
A broader assessment that included states which classified the funds under other FAAC-related revenue headings placed Ondo among the biggest beneficiaries, with N31.86 billion, followed by Lagos with N30.30 billion.
Abia recorded N24.50 billion, Nasarawa N21.24 billion and Niger N15.50 billion, while Benue and Plateau each reported N14 billion. Delta recorded N5.50 billion, Ekiti N5.38 billion, Kaduna N3.83 billion, Kebbi N1.95 billion and Zamfara N1.71 billion.
The 16 states that clearly identified the infrastructure and security revenue accounted for about 61 per cent of the N435.25 billion total, while the 13 states reporting the funds under other separately disclosed FAAC-related revenue accounted for approximately 39 per cent.
Relative to the N4.55 trillion federation allocation received by the states with available half-year records, the N435.25 billion represented nearly 10 per cent. It was also equivalent to 20.71 per cent of the N2.10 trillion generated internally by the same states during the period.
Compared with the combined N6.65 trillion in FAAC and independent revenue, the special funding represented 6.55 per cent.
The budget performance figures also revealed wide differences between the amounts received by individual states and their full-year projections for the dedicated revenue line.
Gombe recorded N24.50 billion against a full-year budget provision of N5 billion, meaning the state had already received 490 per cent of its annual estimate within the first six months.
Bauchi received N14.58 billion out of its N16.84 billion annual provision, representing 86.6 per cent performance. Jigawa recorded 65 per cent of its N30 billion annual provision, while Yobe received N17.50 billion against a N36.49 billion budget, representing 48 per cent performance and leaving an N18.99 billion, or 52 per cent, gap.
Ogun’s N19.50 billion receipt represented 38 per cent of its N51.28 billion annual budget, leaving a funding gap of N31.78 billion.
Enugu recorded N27.02 billion against its N80 billion budget, representing 33.8 per cent performance. The state therefore had N52.98 billion, or 66.2 per cent, remaining to meet its full-year projection.
Borno received N16.41 billion out of its N49.44 billion budget, representing 33.2 per cent performance and leaving a N33.03 billion shortfall. Katsina’s N19.50 billion receipt represented 32.4 per cent of its N60.27 billion budget, leaving N40.77 billion, or 67.6 per cent, below its projection.
Kwara recorded N14 billion against N49.62 billion, representing 28.2 per cent performance, while Kano received N14 billion against N61.07 billion, equivalent to 22.9 per cent.
The figures left Kwara with a N35.62 billion gap, representing 71.8 per cent of its annual estimate, while Kano had a N47.07 billion, or 77.1 per cent, shortfall.
Kogi received N7 billion against a N39.19 billion budget, representing 17.9 per cent performance and leaving a N32.19 billion gap.
Taraba’s N14 billion receipt amounted to 17.3 per cent of its N80.70 billion annual budget, leaving N66.70 billion, or 82.7 per cent, outstanding.
Ebonyi recorded N14 billion against an N88.41 billion budget, representing 15.8 per cent performance and leaving N74.41 billion outstanding.
Sokoto received N12.50 billion against its revised N90 billion budget, representing 13.9 per cent performance and leaving a balance of N77.50 billion, or 86.1 per cent.
Adamawa and Anambra recorded 100 per cent funding gaps under the dedicated revenue line after receiving no funds by the end of June. Adamawa had budgeted about N35.23 billion based on its revised estimate, while Anambra projected N10 billion.
Cross River and Imo recorded N17.50 billion and N14 billion respectively, but their available reports did not provide corresponding budget figures for the infrastructure and security revenue line. Their budget performance could therefore not be calculated.
For the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, the increased flow of funds to states represents a positive step towards a more decentralised federation.
Yusuf, however, stressed that the benefits would depend on transparency and how effectively the resources are deployed.
He said the additional revenue could improve development at the subnational level, make growth more inclusive and promote greater geographical equity if the funds were properly utilised.
The economist also warned against diverting the resources into projects with limited economic value, stressing the need for citizens to have a greater role in monitoring how state governments spend public funds.
He raised concerns about transparency, citing the establishment of airlines by some states despite questions about their profitability, and called for a framework that would enable citizens to engage more effectively with subnational governments.
Economic analyst Aliyu Ilias also described the decision to attach specific purposes to funds allocated to states as a positive development but called for stronger public oversight.
According to Ilias, citizens should monitor how the money is used, while state governments should provide greater transparency in accounting for the resources they receive.
He also referred to the N6 trillion reportedly collected by states from subsidy savings and argued that such funds should be channelled towards key development priorities, including agriculture, to help address food inflation.
Ilias further urged non-governmental organisations to monitor the utilisation of the funds, given the substantial resources available to states through subsidy savings and other interventions.
The development comes as state governments face growing demands to finance roads, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure while increasing expenditure on kidnapping, banditry and other security challenges.
Recent comments by state governors have also highlighted the increased financial capacity of subnational governments following fiscal reforms and interventions by the Federal Government.
Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah, speaking during the Presidential Media Tour of the South-East in June 2026, attributed the rapid expansion of infrastructure projects in the state to increased financial support available to subnational governments under President Bola Tinubu.
Mbah said the Federal Government’s policies had freed up resources for states and strengthened their capacity to drive development from the grassroots.
In Delta State, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori similarly acknowledged the increase in resources available to state governments.
At the groundbreaking ceremony for the N39.3 billion Otovwodo flyover project in January, Oborevwori said more money was coming to the states and urged governors to deploy the resources for the benefit of their people.
Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri also commended Federal Government interventions that supported the state’s infrastructure programme, particularly the development of its 60-megawatt gas-fired power project.
Diri said the policy interventions had enabled Bayelsa to pursue its plans to improve electricity supply and support economic activities.
Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule described the increase in federation allocations as unprecedented, saying the additional resources had placed greater responsibility on governors to invest in development and security.
Sule noted that all tiers of government were now receiving substantially more revenue than in previous years, with monthly distributions significantly higher than the levels recorded when he became governor in 2019.
He also argued that states now had greater resources to secure their residents and should take more responsibility for addressing security challenges within their jurisdictions.
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani also applauded the Federal Government in April 2026 over the scale of infrastructure commitments to the state.
The Nigerian Governors Forum, during the same period, reaffirmed its commitment to working with the current administration on fiscal reforms aimed at strengthening state capacity, improving revenue mobilisation and expanding service delivery.
The governors also agreed with the President on the need for what they described as an “irreducible minimum” of infrastructure investment to sustain the gains of ongoing macroeconomic reforms.
Ultimately, the significance of the N435.25 billion intervention will depend not only on the amount received by state governments but also on the transparency with which the funds are accounted for and whether the additional resources translate into improved infrastructure and stronger security for residents.
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