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Daud Olatunji
BudgIT, a civic technology organisation, has expressed concern 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 organization revealed 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“The Missing Tier: Mapping Local Government Budget Transparency in Nigeria,” noting that six states publish partial or outdated LGA budget information, while 18 states publish none at all.
According to BudgIT, despite local governments’ finances coming from statutory allocations in the federation account, most of the 774 LGAs in the country still operate without budget documents accessible to the public online.
“Budgets are maintained at local government secretariats across Nigeria. Local government chairmen present appropriation bills, which councils approve, while monthly allocations are disbursed from the federation account,” the report said.
However, the organization has complained that these documents remain largely inaccessible to the public.
BudgIT has highlighted some states as examples of best practice in transparency, with Ekiti State emerging as a leading model.
The state reportedly publishes individual budgets for 2026 for all its 16 LGAs and 22 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), along with signed PDF documents, town hall consultation minutes and Excel templates aligned to the National Chart of Accounts (NCOA).
Similarly, Cross River State has been commended for publishing 2025 individual budgets, 2024 audited accounts and quarterly budget performance reports for all its councils, strengthening accountability mechanisms.
Other states identified as releasing LGA budget documents include Borno, Ebonyi, Osun, Kebbi, Kogi, Enugu, Kaduna and Yobe. While some of these states provide consolidated budget documents, others do not have supporting audits or performance reports, indicating varying levels of transparency.
In Borno State, for example, the report notes that a consolidated budget for 2025 is available, along with zoning improvement plans and audited financial statements, suggesting a structured financial reporting system.
However, BudgIT said six states – Kano, Imo, Ondo, Anambra, Ogun and others – provide only partial or outdated data.
In Kano State, the organization noted that only Q1 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 financial statement for 2024 exists.
The report also notes that Ondo State provides limited coverage, with documents available for only 14 LGAs, while Anambra releases its 2026 Appropriations Bill without a detailed breakdown of items. 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 accessible to the public 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 highlighted that the absence of publicly accessible LGA financial statements 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 organization said, adding that extending online publication to LGAs is neither complex nor expensive.
“Since state governments already publish their budgets online, extending the same standard to local councils is neither complex nor expensive; it is a matter of institutional choice,” he added.
The organization also argued that transparency at the local government level is essential for accountability, as local authorities represent the level of government closest to citizens.
“Where they are withheld, the buck stops at the state level, leaving the level closest to citizens financially opaque,” BudgIT warned.
He argued that public access to LGA budgets would allow citizens to monitor public spending, scrutinize 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 full disclosure is possible.
“The difference between these two realities is not capacity. It is commitment,” the report states.
The organization urged governments to adopt openness as standard practice, describing transparency as a key pillar of good governance and democratic accountability.
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