….20 states fail to disclose any council financial records despite ongoing allocations
…Ekiti, Cross River emerge as benchmarks for grassroots accountability
A civic technology organisation, BudgIT, has raised fresh concerns over transparency in Nigeria’s local government system, revealing that only 10 states currently provide publicly accessible budget data for their Local Government Areas (LGAs).
The disclosure is contained in BudgIT’s latest report titled “The Missing Tier: Mapping Local Government Budget Transparency in Nigeria,” which highlights significant gaps in financial openness at the grassroots level.
According to the report, while local government budgets are routinely prepared, reviewed, and funded across the country, most are not made available to the public through accessible platforms.
“Yet for most of Nigeria’s 774 local governments, those budgets are not publicly accessible online,” the organisation noted.
Leaders in Transparency
The report identified Ekiti State as a standout performer, publishing detailed 2026 budgets for all its 16 LGAs and 22 LCDAs. Each entry includes signed documents, records of town hall consultations, and standardised financial templates.
Similarly, Cross River State was commended for releasing individual 2025 LGA budgets, audited 2024 accounts, and quarterly performance reports.
Borno State also ranked high, with a consolidated 2025 budget, zone improvement plans, and audited financial statements indicating a structured accountability framework.
Other states with some level of published LGA budget data include Ebonyi State, Osun State, Kebbi State, Kogi State, Enugu State, Kaduna State, and Yobe State—though varying in depth and completeness.
Partial Compliance in Six States
BudgIT also found that six states provide only partial or outdated information.
For instance, Kano State publishes quarterly performance reports but lacks full-year approved budgets, while Imo State has no accessible LGA budget despite releasing a financial statement.
In Ondo State, data is limited to a fraction of LGAs, while Anambra State provides only broad appropriation laws without detailed breakdowns. Ogun State, meanwhile, has outdated records, with only 2024 data available.
20 States Fail Transparency Test
More concerning, the report listed 20 states—including Lagos State, Rivers State, Oyo State, and Delta State—as having no publicly available LGA budget documents at all.
BudgIT stressed that the issue is not the absence of budgets but the lack of political will to publish them.
“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,” the report stated.
Call for Accountability
The organisation emphasised that making LGA budgets public is critical to strengthening democracy and accountability at the grassroots.
It noted that transparency allows citizens to track spending, understand government priorities, and hold officials accountable.
“Where they are withheld, accountability stops at the state level, leaving the tier closest to citizens financially opaque,” BudgIT warned.
The report concluded that improving transparency across Nigeria’s 774 LGAs requires not new systems, but commitment to already established governance principles.
