ActionAid Nigeria has thrown its weight behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s call on state governors to halt the construction of unnecessary flyovers, urging governments across the country to redirect public funds to sectors that have a direct impact on citizens’ lives.
In a statement signed by its Country Director, Dr. Andrew Mamedu, on Sunday in Abuja, the civil society organisation said the President’s position provides an opportunity to rethink public spending priorities, insisting that Nigeria’s challenge is not the absence of resources but how those resources are utilised.
ActionAid argued that while infrastructure development is important, governments should avoid projects driven by prestige rather than public need, especially as millions of Nigerians continue to grapple with economic hardship.
The organisation called for a review of government spending on what it described as low-impact expenditures, including unnecessary prestige projects, luxury acquisitions, oversized official delegations, excessive local and foreign travel, and discretionary spending that lacks transparency and accountability.
It pointed to figures from the Budget Office of the Federation showing that President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima are allocated a combined ₦9.36 billion in the proposed 2026 budget for local travel, foreign travel, food and refreshments.
It noted that the actual cost of official trips could be higher because expenses for accompanying officials and logistics are often budgeted separately.
According to ActionAid, reducing the allocation by half would free about ₦4.68 billion, enough to finance approximately 62 three-classroom school blocks, 208 solar-powered boreholes and five fully equipped primary healthcare centres, based on recent government project costs.
Dr. Mamedu said public budgets should reflect citizens’ priorities rather than government luxury.
“This is not merely a question of reducing expenditure; it is about changing national priorities. Every unnecessary luxury purchase represents classrooms that were never built.
“Every unjustifiable trip represents medicines that never reached a primary healthcare centre.
“Every unaccounted security vote represents communities that continue to live in fear without knowing how public resources intended for their protection were spent.
“Every prestige project that fails to address citizens’ needs represents another missed opportunity to reduce poverty and inequality. Public budgets are moral documents. They reveal whose interests governments choose to protect.”
The organisation urged the Federal Government and state governments to increase investments in education, primary healthcare, water and sanitation, food security, climate resilience and social protection.
It also called for lower governance costs through reduced official travel and luxury spending, greater transparency in discretionary and security-related expenditures, evidence-based infrastructure planning, and stronger citizen participation in budget preparation, implementation and monitoring.
