Drama as HIV Control Agency Allocated N350m for Food Distribution in Sokoto
Fahad Faruk Galadanchi
The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has been allocated N350 million in the Federal Government’s 2026 budget to implement grain distribution projects in Sokoto State, despite the agency’s primary mandate of coordinating Nigeria’s response to HIV/AIDS.
According to an analysis of the 2026 Appropriation Act by The International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), NACA was assigned two grain intervention projects valued at N175 million each.
The projects are expected to provide grains to communities in Isa, Sabon Birni, Gada and Illela Local Government Areas, as well as Gwadabawa, Goronyo, Wurno and Rabah LGAs of Sokoto State.
The allocations appear alongside NACA’s core health programmes, including HIV prevention, treatment and care initiatives.
Established in 2000, NACA is responsible for coordinating Nigeria’s HIV/AIDS response through policy formulation, programme coordination, resource mobilisation and monitoring of HIV interventions nationwide. Food distribution, agricultural interventions and humanitarian relief are not part of its statutory responsibilities.
The budgetary allocation has sparked concerns over the growing trend of assigning constituency projects to federal agencies outside their legal mandates, with public finance experts and budget transparency advocates questioning the practice.
The development comes amid increased scrutiny of the 2026 federal budget following reports that the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council received over N1.3 billion in allocations, despite the Presidency stating that no such agency exists.
