Industrial Arbitration Panel Mandate Is To Resolve Cases But Now To Spend N2.8 Billion On Streetlights, Road and Community Projects Outside Statutory Mandate

Secrets Reporters

A review of the 2026 Appropriation Bill by SecretsReporters has uncovered billions of naira in proposed capital projects assigned to the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP)—a federal agency established to resolve industrial and labour disputes—for the execution of infrastructure and community intervention projects that appear unrelated to its statutory responsibilities.

Findings by SecretsReporters show that one of the largest allocations under the agency’s 2026 capital budget is ₦2.8 billion earmarked for the supply and installation of solar streetlights in Ife East Local Government Area of Osun State.

The allocation appears on Page 899 of the 2026 Appropriation Bill reviewed by SecretsReporters. The Industrial Arbitration Panel is a specialised labour institution under the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment. Established to adjudicate trade disputes referred by the Minister of Labour, mediate between employers and workers, and facilitate the resolution of industrial disagreements before matters proceed to the National Industrial Court, the agency’s statutory functions are centred on labour relations and dispute resolution.

However, an analysis of the agency’s proposed capital expenditure reveals a portfolio of projects that extends far beyond those responsibilities.
Beyond the ₦2.8 billion solar streetlight project in Osun State, the budget contains multiple allocations for infrastructure and community intervention projects across several states.

Documents reviewed by us show provisions for the installation of all-in-one solar streetlights, construction of solar-powered boreholes, rural electrification projects, rehabilitation of classrooms, road construction, community water schemes, office renovations and other projects typically associated with infrastructure-focused government agencies.

The budget also includes allocations for road construction in Yobe State, classroom rehabilitation in Lagos and Kwara States, scholarship programmes in Benue State, fertiliser distribution in Kogi State, office renovations in Jos and Asaba, as well as solar-powered community projects across Kwara, Kaduna, Adamawa, Kogi, Jigawa, Ekiti, Enugu and Osun States. SecretsReporters found that several of the projects are classified as ongoing interventions despite appearing to fall outside the Industrial Arbitration Panel’s traditional operational scope.

A review of the agency’s enabling responsibilities, as reflected in publicly available government records, shows that its mandate is limited to industrial relations, arbitration proceedings, labour dispute settlement and the administration of arbitration panels.

The budget documents, however, assign the agency responsibility for implementing a wide range of physical infrastructure and community development projects.

Among them, the ₦2.8 billion allocation for solar streetlights in Ife East Local Government Area stands out as one of the largest single capital projects under the agency’s proposed 2026 budget. In addition to the community intervention projects, l allocations were made for the procurement of operational vehicles, including an SUV for the Office of the Chief Registrar, alongside numerous construction-related projects.
The concentration of infrastructure projects under the Industrial Arbitration Panel forms part of a broader pattern identified during our review of the 2026 Appropriation Bill.

The 2026 Appropriation Bill reviewed by did not explain why the Industrial Arbitration Panel was selected to implement these projects or the criteria used in assigning the interventions to the agency. Similarly, the appropriations schedule examined does not provide details on the proposed implementation framework, procurement timelines or project monitoring mechanisms for the listed interventions.

The findings come as the Federal Government continues to emphasise fiscal discipline, prudent public expenditure and greater accountability in budget implementation. The allocations also raise broader questions about institutional alignment in public budgeting, including whether assigning infrastructure projects to agencies whose primary mandates lie elsewhere could affect oversight, implementation capacity and value for money.