N2.7 billion for sitting allowances, N50 million for water: Niger State’s damning budget numbers

The Niger State Government spent over N2.69 billion on honorarium and sitting allowances in the first six months of 2026 — 53 times more than the N50 million released for water infrastructure construction — while allocating nothing to rehabilitate existing water facilities, according to an analysis of the state’s Second Quarter Budget Implementation Report published by SaharaReporters.

The state had budgeted N22.93 billion for water construction but implemented just 0.2 per cent, leaving N22.88 billion unspent. Meanwhile, residents of Niger State have for years been forced to share water sources with livestock due to chronic shortages of potable water — a crisis the budget figures suggest remains firmly on the back burner.