By Uche Onyeali
Federal government has proposed N6.12 billion to settle judgement debts and related liabilities across three ministries in the 2026 budget proposal.
An analysis of the figures showed that the total allocation for judgement debts in 2026 stands at N6.12bollion, compared to N6.05billion provided in the 2025 budget.
This reflects an increase of about N75.06million year-on-year, suggesting that overall obligations from court judgements and outstanding liabilities have not reduced despite lower provisions for some ministries.
According to reports, the Federal Ministry of Works accounts for the largest share of the proposed 2026 allocation.
The ministry is to receive a combined N5.39billion for judgement debts, comprising N1.4billion listed broadly as judgment debt and additional N3.99 billion specifically tied to a legal case identified as suit no LD/7036GCM/2023.
In the 2025 budget, the Ministry of Works was allocated N5billion for judgement debts, meaning its provision rises by about N390million in 2026, largely due to the inclusion of the specific court case.
The Federal Ministry of Education Headquarters will receive N700million in 2026 for outstanding capital liabilities and judgement debts. This represents a reduction from the N1billion allocated to the ministry for the same purpose in the 2025 budget, indicating a lower provision for unresolved claims linked to education projects.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Headquarters has the smallest allocation among the three ministries.
The ministry is expected to receive N34.86million for judgement debts in 2026, down from N49.8 million in the previous year.
The decline reflects a lower budgetary provision for court-related liabilities compared with 2025.
Despite reduction in allocations to the education and health ministries, the overall increase in the 2026 figure is driven by higher provisions under the Ministry of Works.
The data showed that judgement debts remain concentrated in infrastructure-related ministries, where contractual disputes and compensation claims are more prevalent.
In October 2025, the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi disclosed that the federal government’s concession plan on the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway has been stalled by a court case.
Speaking with journalists after inspecting the Sagamu-Ijebu Ode-Benin Expressway and Section Two of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which runs from Sagamu Interchange to Ojoo in Ibadan, the minister said the legal dispute had delayed the planned concession to private operators for maintenance.
“The federal government has always been willing to ensure that CCTV is installed on the road. It is our plan to concession the Lagos–Ibadan road, but someone took us to court.
“We want the private sector to take up some of these completed projects, operate and maintain them, but the matter is still in court. Somebody said he was going to build this road, operate and transfer it, but we never knew what happened under the past administration, so it did not work and he went to court.
“We are, however, telling the court that once an order is made, it is the citizens who will suffer. So we are saying that the court should not make any order that will impact negatively on the welfare of the people,” Umahi said.
The controversy dates back to 2009 when the federal government awarded a 25-year concession to Bi-Courtney Highway Services Limited to reconstruct, expand and manage the highway under a public-private- partnership model.
Although the deal—ratified in 2011—allowed Bi-Courtney to recover its investment through tolling, it was terminated in 2012 for alleged non-performance.
The firm challenged the termination in court, accusing government of breaching due process by awarding a new concession to Motorway Assets Limited without following laid-down procedures.
