A report by BudgIT has revealed that only 10 states provided publicly accessible budget information for their Local Government Areas (LGAs).
The report, titled “The Missing Tier: Mapping Local Government Budget Transparency in Nigeria,”found that while six states offer partial or outdated disclosures, as many as 18 states do not publish any LGA budget data at all.
Despite the existence of these budgets at council secretariats nationwide, BudgIT noted that access remains largely restricted, particularly online.
“For most of Nigeria’s 774 local governments, those budgets are not publicly accessible online,” the report stated.
Among the states assessed, Ekiti emerged as the top performer, with a comprehensive system that includes detailed, up-to-date budget documentation for its councils.
Other states identified as making LGA budget information available include Ebonyi, Osun, Kebbi, Kogi, Enugu, Kaduna and Yobe.
However, the report cautioned that even among these states, data quality remains inconsistent, with several budgets either incomplete, outdated, or poorly structured.
BudgIT highlighted notable examples of improved accountability practices.
Ekiti State, for instance, publishes individual 2026 budgets for all its LGAs and LCDAs, accompanied by signed documents, consultation records, and standardised financial templates.
Cross River State also stood out for releasing individual council budgets, audited accounts, and quarterly performance reports.
Similarly, Borno State was commended for maintaining a consolidated 2025 budget alongside supporting financial documents, suggesting a structured and functional reporting system.
The report identified six states with limited transparency, providing only fragmented or outdated information.
Kano State, for example, publishes quarterly performance reports but lacks full-year approved budgets.
In Imo State, no LGA budgets were found, although a financial statement from the Accountant-General was available.
Ondo State reportedly released documents for only a portion of its LGAs, while Anambra published an appropriation law without detailed breakdowns. Ogun State, meanwhile, only provided data for 2024.
BudgIT further disclosed that a large number of states fail entirely to make LGA budgets public.
These include Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Delta, Edo, Gombe, Jigawa, Katsina, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, and Zamfara.
According to the organisation, the issue is not the absence of budget documents but the lack of public access to them.
“Yet for most of Nigeria’s 774 local governments, those budgets are not publicly accessible online,” the civic tech firm said.
BudgIT stressed that improving transparency at the local government level does not require complex reforms but rather a deliberate policy decision.
“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 organisation said.
It added, “This choice is a critical one; Nigeria’s post-1999 experience with democracy has not had Local Governments with significant autonomy. Be that as it may, LGAs still have the opportunity to make public what they budget, what they spend and what they earn.”
Highlighting the benefits of openness, the report noted that transparency enables citizens to track public spending and hold officials accountable.
“Where they are withheld, accountability stops at the state level, leaving the tier closest to citizens financially opaque,” BudgIT said.
“The difference between these two realities is not capacity. It is commitment. Some LGAs show clear willingness and inclination to provide this information and do so in a comprehensive manner. This shows that transparency, at every tier of government, is possible.”
BudgIT concluded that achieving full disclosure across all LGAs is attainable, requiring only sustained commitment and adherence to established transparency standards.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu had before now urged Nigerian media organisations to broaden their scrutiny beyond the Federal Government to include state and local governments, arguing that sub-national authorities now enjoy greater financial autonomy under his administration’s reforms
The President said reforms implemented by his administration had strengthened federalism and ensured that local governments receive their allocations directly.
“We’ve opened up the principle of federalism to the extent that local governments are now getting their money. But how they use it is in your hand, so don’t bombard me alone.
“Look at local government too, and equally, the sub-national,” he said.
