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Budget allocations for health and defense in Nigeria and Ghana highlight the influence of political systems on fiscal distribution. Nigeria's appropriation bill of N58.47 trillion proposes N5.41 trillion for defense and N2.48 trillion for health, focusing on security and human capital development.

Conversely, Ghana allocates a larger share of its 357.1 billion cedis budget to health. Political scientists David Fidelis and Nana Baah suggest that regime type affects the balance between military and health spending, with autocracies favoring military expenditures. Their research indicates that democracies, such as Ghana, allocate proportionately more to health, while Nigeria's hybrid regime leads to less predictable budget outcomes.