𝙎𝙞𝙭 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚: 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙇𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙨 𝙣𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙪𝙨 On 21 October 2020, Nigeria's oldest courthouse burned. The Igbosere High Court dates to the early 1860s. In May 2023, the Rebuild Lagos Trust Fund said the first phase of reconstruction would be handed over by 30 May 2024. That deadline passed more than two years ago. I found no public record confirming the handover. The Fund's project page still lists the court at 45% completion and describes April 2023 as a future start date. So I followed the numbers. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚 The Fund was established by executive order in November 2020 and incorporated in April 2021 as a not-for-profit public-private partnership to restore public assets damaged during the unrest. Lagos State's 2021 budget earmarked ₦15 billion for the effort. The Governor said the state could not do it alone and would need both public and private support. Six flagship projects were selected: - Iga Idunganran Primary Healthcare Centre - Igbosere High Court - Lagos City Hall - Ikotun Fire Station - Lagos DNA and Forensic Centre - Oyingbo Bus Terminal At the Igbosere groundbreaking in December 2022, the Governor assured donors that the fund would be accounted for. That is the standard being applied here—the government's own. 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩, 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙙𝙪𝙚 The Iga Idunganran PHC is a clear success. It reopened in May 2023 with new ENT, eye and dental clinics, serving a community whose health centre was damaged in the unrest. The Fund also does something many public bodies do not: it publishes audited accounts and identifies its donors. So this is not a story about a fund that hides information. It is about what its published figures still leave unanswered. Three numbers stand out. 1. ₦𝟭𝟱 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻: A budget allocation is a promise, not proof of payment. How much of the ₦15 billion actually reached the Fund, when was it released, and what was it spent on? The answer should fit on one page. I could not find it published. 2. 𝟵𝟳%: In 2023, the Fund reported ₦1.634 billion in donations and grants, up from ₦1.160 billion in 2022. Note 9 of its audited report says ₦1.589 billion came from Lagos State—about 97%. Individual donors contributed ₦6,000. Not ₦6 million: ₦6,000. Nigerian companies contributed ₦2.66 million. The report also records restricted donations from banks including FCMB and Union Bank, as well as medical equipment from Zenith Bank. A public-private partnership funded 97% by the state is, in practice, overwhelmingly publicly financed. That is not a scandal, but it raises the accountability standard. If taxpayers provide the money, they should be able to trace it. What has the Fund received since inception—in cash, grants and in-kind contributions—by source and year? And how does it plan to increase private contributions? 3. 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘀 ₦𝟭𝟮𝟮 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻: The Fund reported deficits of ₦881.97 million in 2022 and ₦1.194 billion in 2023—about ₦2.08 billion over two years. Its equity fell from ₦1.95 billion at the start of 2022 to minus ₦122 million at the end of 2023. On paper, liabilities exceeded assets. A rebuilding fund is expected to spend; deploying reserves for construction is part of its purpose. But it reached that position five months before the courthouse's first phase, estimated at roughly ₦8 billion, was due for handover. What has the Fund committed to pay, how much is funded, and where will the balance come from? 𝙁𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 The Fund's project page currently shows: - Iga Idunganran PHC: 100%, delivered - Igbosere High Court: 45% - Lagos City Hall: 10% - Lagos DNA and Forensic Centre: 5%, with re-equipping estimated by the Fund at over $7 million - Ikotun Fire Station: no information provided - Oyingbo Bus Terminal: no information provided None of these figures is dated or accompanied by a cost.