The money series · October 2026
Nigeria's states set aside ₦963 billion for climate works in 2025. Just over half was spent.
31 states set aside ₦963 billion for climate-related capital works in 2025. By year-end they had spent ₦540 billion. Most of it went on water supply and environmental protection; trees received about 1%.
The money series
Nigeria's states set aside ₦963 billion for climate works in 2025. Just over half was spent.
Climate Action Index · October 2026
₦963bn
budgeted for climate-related capital works in 31 states
5.9%
of those states' combined capital budgets
56%
recorded as spent by year-end (₦540bn)
47%
sits under “environmental protection, not elsewhere classified”
What the record shows
- 1
Two areas take almost all the money. Environmental protection, waste and pollution (₦521bn) and water supply (₦380bn) make up 94% of the total. Street lighting takes 5%; trees, forests and biodiversity just 1.3%.
- 2
Nearly half the money is hard to see. ₦451bn is reported only as “environmental protection n.e.c.”, a residual heading. The project lists show that, where it can be traced, it is mostly drainage, erosion control and dredging.
- 3
Spending lagged budgets in most states. 18 of 31 states spent less than half of their climate budget; 8 spent less than a quarter. Trees and biodiversity fared worst: 17% spent.
- 4
Big lines move; small local lines mostly do not. In the 12 states that publish full project lists, 62 lines of ₦1bn or more hold 83% of the money. Of 468 lines under ₦50m, where village boreholes and ward drains sit, 73% recorded no spending.
- 5
The record does not say who the money is for. None of 888 climate project lines states how many people a work is meant to serve.
- 6
Most states do not publish what they built. Only 12 states published a complete list of 2025 capital projects; six jurisdictions had no full-year capital report we could read.
About this report
We read the full-year (fourth-quarter) 2025 budget implementation reports of 31 of Nigeria's 37 states and federal territory and took the capital spending each classifies under water supply, environmental protection, waste, pollution, street lighting, forestry and biodiversity. Where a state also publishes its full list of capital projects, we followed the money to the individual line. Electricity (₦543bn budgeted) is reported separately. Figures describe what states' own reports record; they are not total climate spending in Nigeria and they do not rank states. Rivers and the FCT had no full-year report; Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River and Ogun reports could not be used.
How to cite
Climate Action Index (2026). Where the money goes: climate-related capital spending in Nigeria's states, FY2025. Centre for Climate Action, Innovation and Engagement (CCAIE).
Contact: climateactionindex@gmail.com