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…Works Ministry gets N3.49trn, earmarks N3.44trn for projects
By Uche Usim
Personnel costs will swallow more than half of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation’s 2026 budget.
The development highlights how staffing expenses continue to dominate Nigeria’s social intervention spending even as poverty pressures deepen across the country.
Concerns are rife that the ministry, positioned as a critical vehicle for social protection and poverty reduction, is channeling roughly 55 per cent of its entire budget into personnel costs alone.
The dominance of personnel spending highlights a wider trend in public sector budgeting, where recurrent expenditure continues to outpace direct investments in programmes that deliver measurable outcomes.
While officials argue that skilled manpower is essential for effective service delivery, critics warn that ballooning wage bills could limit the funds available for interventions that directly impact vulnerable Nigerians.
Capital expenditure, which funds the physical assets and long-term projects designed to lift citizens out of poverty, stands at N201.70 billion. This portion of the budget is meant to finance programme infrastructure, social investment platforms and other development initiatives aimed at creating sustainable economic pathways rather than short-term relief.
Although substantial, the capital vote remains significantly smaller than the personnel allocation, raising questions about whether enough resources are being channeled into scalable projects that can reduce dependency on government support over time.
Meanwhile, overhead costs are kept relatively lean at N5.57 billion. This covers the ministry’s day-to-day administrative and operational expenses, including utilities, logistics and coordination costs. At just over one per cent of the total budget, overheads are clearly not the pressure point in the ministry’s spending profile.
However, as economic hardship persists and public scrutiny of government spending intensifies, the heavy tilt toward personnel costs is likely to fuel debate about efficiency, value for money and whether Nigeria’s social safety net is being built on sustainable foundations or an ever-growing wage bill.
For the Ministry of Works, it has used the 2026 federal budget to make a clear statement of priority: build the infrastructure Nigeria urgently needs and spend less on running offices. With a total allocation of N3.49 trillion, N3.44 trillion is dedicated to capital expenditure. This means that nearly every naira allocated to Works is intended for physical projects, from highway reconstruction and bridge repairs to new road corridors designed to boost trade, cut travel time and improve safety.
At a time when deteriorating road networks are blamed for rising transport costs, vehicle damage and avoidable accidents, the heavy tilt toward capital spending reflects a recognition that infrastructure deficits have become an economic emergency.
The Works Ministry, more than any other arm of government, has been tasked with responding directly to this challenge.
Overhead costs for the year stand at N35.73 billion, covering routine operational expenses such as logistics, utilities and coordination.
Personnel costs are even lower at N12.95 billion, set aside for the salaries and allowances of engineers, planners and supervisors responsible for delivering the ambitious construction programme.
The budget structure sends a clear signal that roads and bridges are being placed above bureaucracy.
Rather than expanding payrolls or administrative comforts, the government has chosen to direct the bulk of available resources into projects that have immediate and visible impact on daily life and economic activity.
In comparison with other infrastructure-related ministries, the scale of the Works allocation is unmatched.
Power is budgeted at about N1.1 trillion, while Transport receives roughly N432.3 billion. The contrast underlines the central role assigned to road infrastructure within the broader development agenda for 2026.
Ultimately, the success of this capital-heavy budget will be measured on the ground. Nigerians will judge the ministry not by figures in the appropriation bill, but by smoother highways, safer bridges and fewer abandoned projects.
