Only 10 States Publish Local Government Budgets Online, BudgIT Report Finds

A new report by BudgIT indicates that public access to local government budgets in Nigeria remains limited, with only 10 states making such documents available online.

The report, titled “The Missing Tier: Mapping Local Government Budget Transparency in Nigeria,” examined the availability of annual budgets for local government areas (LGAs) across the country. It found that six additional states provide partial information, while 18 states do not publish any LGA budget data online.

BudgIT noted that although local government budgets are prepared and kept at council secretariats nationwide, they are rarely accessible to the public through digital platforms.

“For most of Nigeria’s 774 local governments, those budgets are not publicly accessible online,” the report stated.

Among the states that provide online access, Ekiti State was identified as having the most consistent record in publishing LGA budget information. Other states highlighted include Ebonyi, Osun, Kebbi, Kogi, Enugu, Kaduna, and Yobe.

The report also observed that even in states where LGA budgets are published, the information is often outdated, incomplete, or presented in formats that are difficult to navigate, limiting its usefulness for public accountability and analysis.