The Ondo State Government spent N1950 billion between January and September 2025 on the acquisition of three vehicles. These include an armoured vehicle for Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa. There is also a Prado Jeep for the Secretary to the State Government. Finally, they purchased an extra GAC vehicle. This is according to a SaharaReporters review of the state’s 2025 budget performance document.
The original line in the budget described the procurement in parts. It stated the buying of one armoured vehicle for Ag Governor. It also included one Prado Jeep for SSG and one GAC.
The sum represents almost the entirety of an original N2 billion allocation for luxury vehicles in the 2025 budget. It sits uneasily against a range of development items. These items are underfunded or unexecuted in the same document.
The Budget Implementation Reports show multiple capital projects for rural water, health, and software upgrades. This contrasts with the conspicuous vehicle spending. These projects have little or no year-to-date execution. The reports are published by the Ondo State Budget Office.
The state’s Q1 budget implementation report records strong revenue inflows in early 2025. It also highlights wide disparities in capital execution across sectors.
The same SaharaReporters analysis highlights further items that have provoked public concern. The Office of the Deputy Governor has budgeted N15 million for two executive chairs. It also allocated N20 million for an executive table. This implies unit costs of roughly N7.5 million per chair.
The State House of Assembly budget includes a N200 million allocation for telephone charges for 2025. The report translates this figure to N16 million per month. It amounts to N533,333 per day and about N22,222 every hour in a thirty-day month.
Other allocations cited include N20 million for 40 executive chairs by the Office of the Accountant General (N500,000 per chair). There is also N8 million allocated for a treasury gate and gatehouse. Additionally, N7 million is allocated for renovation and furnishing of a data centre.
A review of Ondo’s own published budget documents supports the assertion. Large sums were planned for high-end administrative purchases. Meanwhile, critical services like rural water schemes show zero execution in early reporting.
The Q1 report lists several rural water projects with full appropriations but no disbursements or work done year to date. This juxtaposition sharpens the political and governance question about spending priorities for a state with finite resources.
The headline vehicle spending is not unique to Ondo. Recent reporting has exposed similar patterns in other states. In these states, governors’ offices and legislative houses have sizeable allocations for vehicles and convoy upgrades. Meanwhile, social sector capital programmes stay underexecuted.
SaharaReporters, for example, has reported on a N1.8 billion vehicle outlay in Jigawa State in 2025. The recurrence of such allocations across federating units heightens calls for procurement transparency and sequential public scrutiny.
Political reaction has followed. Opposition parties and civil society groups have publicly criticised the Ondo budget. They argue it privileges executive consumption over service delivery. The state leadership has conceded in other contexts that some 2025 capital projections were “unrealistic.” These projections will be reviewed.
That admission increases the urgency of an audit. A public explanation of procurement choices is also needed. Furthermore, vendor choice for high-value assets, including armoured vehicles, should be clarified.
Recommendations
Publish the procurement records for the armoured vehicle and associated approvals including tender documents, supplier identity and cost breakdowns.
Seat an independent audit of 2025 capital spending to compare appropriations with execution and to find re-prioritisation opportunities.
Require the Ondo State House of Assembly and the Accountant General to account publicly. They should explain overhead line items like telephone charges. They should also explain furniture procurements.
The state lacks transparent procurement documentation. There is no credible explanation for prioritising luxury vehicles at scale. Without improvements, the optics of spending will continue to erode public trust. This is within a state that has documented strong revenue inflows. It also has glaring capital non-execution in the same fiscal year.
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