Occupy Nigeria brought Sure-P: What has happened to $2.5 billion so far

At the start of 2012, mass protests - tagged 'Occupy Nigeria' - broke out across the country as thousands took the streets to demonstrate against the government's sudden removal of fuel subsidies. Overnight, the cost of petrol had more than doubled and in the following days Nigeria began witnessing its biggest act of civil disobedience since the return to multiparty elections in 1999.

The government claimed that the subsidy removal was necessary to end the vast corruption that taking place under the subsidy regime, and promised to reinvest the saved money into infrastructure, health and education.

But with the cost of living abruptly surging and many Nigerians seeing cheap fuel as the only benefit that trickled down to them from their country's enormous oil wealth, protests continued and the government had to soften its stance.

The government reintroduced a partial subsidy and set up a fund into which the saved money from the partial subsidy removal would be funnelled.

This fund was called the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) and it was charged with using the subsidy savings to invest in infrastructural projects and social empowerment initiatives that, in theory, would benefit all Nigerians.

But over a year and a half on from its establishment and with $2.5 billion having flowed into its coffers - and a further $1.6 billion coming its way in 2014 - what has SURE-P actually achieved?

A sure thing?

SURE-P's funds are split between the Federal Government and States and Local Government, and are meant to be used in two ways: to help fund infrastructural development; and to support social security programmes related to issues such as women and youth empowerment, unemployment, and community service.

But how exactly SURE-P's money is being spent remains unclear.

For example, when the National Assembly asked SURE in November 2012 to produce its 2012 budget expenditure analysis, lawmakers were dismayed to hear that lots of the things SURE committee members pointed to were projects already being carried out by the Federal Government.