By Secrets Reporters
N15 billion for the construction of a fence round the Ebonyi State Government Liaison Office at the Central Area, Abuja. That is what official spending records examined by SecretsReporters show Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru’s 2026 approved budget carries for a perimeter wall in the Federal Capital Territory.
N20 billion for the construction and completion of the New Olympic Stadium at Centenary City, Abakaliki and another N3 billion for the development of other games facilities at the same stadium. Together, the stadium lines carry N23 billion in the 2026 approved budget, down from N27 billion approved for the stadium in 2025.
N7 billion is also budgeted to go down the drain in the renovation of parks in Abakaliki, the amusement park, the green park and Fatilami Abubakar and the sum of N300,000,000 for two modern swing sets.
And just when Ebonyi State thought they have seen it all, Governor Francis penned down N1.38 billion under capital spending for anniversaries and celebrations in 2026. In 2025, the same line was approved at N130 million. The 2026 capital figure is more than ten times the 2025 figure. A further N892,333,708.58 sits in the overhead column for anniversaries and celebrations while N7 billion will go for the purchase of vehicles for government officers.
The official quarterly spending records publish no named sub-line actuals. Only ministry-level totals are disclosed. The records state what was approved for the fence, the stadium, the parks, the swing sets, the celebrations and the vehicles. They do not state what any of those lines has drawn. What the quarterly records do disclose, at the ministry level, is the scale of releases in the first half of 2026.
The ministry carrying the stadium line spent N122,193,680.91 in the first half of 2026 of its N25,400,000,000 total. Capital spending across the ministry for the half year was N80,000,000. The stadium is a real project as the governor has inspected it, pledged to complete it and handed it over for quality delivery. The records do not disclose how much of the N23,000,000,000 appropriated for the stadium and its games facilities in 2026 has been drawn down, by whom, or for what.
The ministry carrying the parks line spent N305,252,709.82 in the first half of the year which is 4.1% of its total. SecretsReporters found no public evidence that the park renovation or the two modern swing sets have commenced. The quarterly records disclose nothing at the line level to show otherwise.
The records examined by SecretsReporters name no events, no vendors and no payments under the anniversaries and celebrations lines. The approvals for 2026 stand at N1,383,000,000 in capital and N892,333,708.58 in overhead, against N130,000,000 approved in 2025.
The official spending records say the money was approved. The official quarterly spending records publish only ministry-level totals but what was released against each named line is not disclosed.
