Daud Olatunji
BudgIT, a civic technology organisation, has raised concerns over widespread opacity in Nigeria’s local government financial management, revealing that only 10 states currently provide publicly accessible budgets for their local government areas (LGAs).
The organisation disclosed this in a report titled “The Missing Tier: Mapping Local Government Budget Transparency in Nigeria,” noting that six states publish partial or outdated LGA budget information, while 18 states do not publish any at all.
According to BudgIT, despite local government finances being drawn from statutory allocations in the federation account, most of the 774 LGAs in the country still operate without publicly accessible budget documents online.
“Budgets are maintained at local government secretariats across Nigeria. Local government chairmen submit appropriation bills, which councils approve, while monthly allocations are disbursed from the federation account,” the report stated.
However, the organisation lamented that these documents remain largely inaccessible to the public.
BudgIT highlighted a few states as examples of best practices in transparency, with Ekiti State emerging as a leading model.
The state reportedly publishes individual 2026 budgets for all its 16 LGAs and 22 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), alongside signed PDF documents, town hall consultation minutes, and Excel templates aligned with the National Chart of Accounts (NCOA).
Similarly, Cross River State was commended for publishing individual 2025 budgets, 2024 audited accounts, and quarterly budget performance reports for all its councils, strengthening accountability mechanisms.
Other states identified as publishing LGA budget documents include Borno, Ebonyi, Osun, Kebbi, Kogi, Enugu, Kaduna, and Yobe. While some of these states provide consolidated budget documents, others lack supporting audits or performance reports, indicating varying levels of transparency.
In Borno State, for instance, the report noted that a consolidated 2025 budget is available, alongside zone improvement plans and audited financial statements, suggesting a structured financial reporting system.
However, BudgIT said six states—Kano, Imo, Ondo, Anambra, Ogun, and others—only provide partial or outdated data.
In Kano State, the organisation observed that only first-quarter 2025 budget performance reports and audit portals are available, with no full-year approved budgets accessible.
In Imo State, no LGA budget documents were found, although a 2024 financial statement exists.
The report also noted that Ondo State provides limited coverage, with documents available for only 14 LGAs, while Anambra publishes its 2026 appropriation law without detailed line-item breakdowns. Ogun State, according to BudgIT, only has 2024 data available.
The situation is worse in 20 states, where BudgIT said no LGA budget documents are publicly accessible at all.
These states include Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Delta, Edo, Gombe, Jigawa, Katsina, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, and Zamfara.
BudgIT stressed that the absence of publicly accessible LGA budgets is not due to a lack of documentation, but rather a lack of political will.
“The main gap is not the existence of the documents, but the lack of public access to them,” the organisation said, adding that extending online publication to LGAs is neither complex nor costly.
“Since state governments already publish their own budgets online, extending the same standard to local councils is neither complex nor costly; it is a matter of institutional choice,” it added.
The organisation further argued that transparency at the local government level is essential for accountability, as LGAs represent the tier of government closest to the people.
“Where they are withheld, accountability stops at the state level, leaving the tier closest to citizens financially opaque,” BudgIT warned.
It maintained that public access to LGA budgets would enable citizens to track government spending, scrutinise allocations, and hold officials accountable.
BudgIT concluded that achieving full transparency requires commitment from state and local authorities, noting that some LGAs have already demonstrated that comprehensive disclosure is possible.
“The difference between these two realities is not capacity. It is commitment,” the report stated.
The organisation urged governments to adopt openness as a standard practice, describing transparency as a fundamental pillar of good governance and democratic accountability.
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