Nigeria disbursed about 2.45 trillion naira (US$1.6 billion) to state governments and the Federal Capital Territory between March 2024 and August 2025 to support infrastructure development and security operations, according to official records from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).
The funds were released over a 17-month period under a special intervention programme financed from non-oil revenue savings, as part of federal efforts to ease fiscal pressure on subnational governments and accelerate project execution amid rising insecurity and infrastructure deficits.
Details of the disbursements were contained in internal OAGF documents submitted at the December 2025 Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting and obtained by Reuters.
The document, titled Ledger of Savings on Intervention to States Infrastructure and Security, showed that total inflows from non-oil savings during the period amounted to 2.45 trillion naira, all of which was paid out to states and the FCT, leaving a zero balance as of August 25, 2025.
The records did not provide a breakdown of allocations by state or clarify whether the intervention funds were disbursed separately from regular monthly revenue allocations.
According to the documents, total disbursements in 2024 stood at 1.184 trillion naira, released through four major transactions in April (259 billion naira), May (222 billion), September (370 billion) and December (333 billion).
In 2025, payments increased to 1.266 trillion naira, spread across six transfers in February (216 billion naira), April (200 billion), May (250 billion), June (250 billion), July (250 billion) and August (100 billion), reflecting a sustained pace of funding releases.
Each payment was recorded as a “Payment for Intervention to States and FCT,” while corresponding inflows were listed as “Transfer from Non-Oil Savings.”
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The intervention programme traces its roots to July 2023, when President Bola Tinubu approved the creation of the Infrastructure Support Fund (ISF) for Nigeria’s 36 states following the removal of fuel subsidies, a move that sharply increased living costs but freed up fiscal space.
At the time, then presidential spokesman Dele Alake said the fund would enable states to invest in critical sectors including transportation, agriculture, healthcare, education, power and water, while also helping to manage the inflationary impact of subsidy removal and exchange rate reforms.
“The committee also resolved to save a portion of the monthly distributable proceeds to minimise the impact of increased revenues on money supply, inflation and the exchange rate,” Alake said.
A month-by-month breakdown of transactions shows that inflows and disbursements did not always align. In March 2024, the federal government received 300 billion naira in savings but made no payments to states. In April, only 100 billion naira was saved, yet 259 billion naira was disbursed.
Similar patterns continued through mid-2024, with modest monthly savings of 100 billion naira and intermittent large payouts, including the 370 billion naira intervention in September.
From May 2025, the pattern became more closely matched, with savings and disbursements of 250 billion naira recorded in the same months, suggesting a more structured release mechanism.
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Despite the scale of the funding, questions remain over how effectively the money has been used.
Auwal Rafsanjani, executive director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, criticised what he described as weak accountability in the use of earlier intervention funds.
He said insecurity remained widespread despite more than 1.6 trillion naira disbursed between March 2024 and May 2025, arguing that public spending had failed to translate into tangible improvements.
Nigeria continues to face severe security challenges, including insurgency in the northeast, banditry in the northwest and communal violence in parts of the Middle Belt, while infrastructure gaps persist across transport, power and healthcare.
The intervention payments come alongside continued federal funding for large-scale infrastructure projects, including a 1 trillion naira metropolitan rail project approved for Kano State, aimed at improving urban mobility and stimulating economic activity.
Nigeria’s federal government has said the intervention programme is designed to strengthen subnational capacity, but analysts say transparency and monitoring will be critical to ensuring the funds deliver lasting impact.
