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El-Rufai Challenges Federal Funding for Lagos Metro in 2025 Budget: “Why Invest Federal Money into a Facility in Lagos?”

Published by Tope Fakinlede on December 29th, 2024.

El-Rufai Challenges Federal Funding for Lagos Metro in 2025 Budget: “Why Invest Federal Money into a Facility in Lagos?”

In his analysis of Nigeria’s 2025 proposed budget, Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai raised concerns over a significant allocation earmarked for the Lagos Green Line Metro Rail Phase 1. In a statement shared online, El-Rufai, referencing his classmate from the Kennedy School, Waziri Adio, suggested that every citizen should pay attention to this issue.

A particular point of concern for El-Rufai was the planned transfer of N146.14 billion to the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) for counterpart funding of the metro project. He questioned the rationale behind this allocation, noting that it represents 65% of the capital budget and 57% of the Ministry of Transport’s entire budget.

El-Rufai raised several questions, asking why federal funds are being used for a project that is essentially located within a single state, and why the counterpart funding isn’t being raised by MOFI through other financial avenues such as the market. He further questioned how the decision was made to prioritize federal investment in the Lagos metro line and whether similar projects would receive such federal funding in other states.

The Governor’s remarks highlight the ongoing debate about federal allocation of resources and the need for equitable distribution of investments across the country.