DATA collated by BudgIT, a non-governmental civic organisation, has shown that 13 out of the 36 states in Nigeria implemented 80 per cent of their budgets for the 2022 fiscal year.
The 13 states are Kogi, Nasarawa, Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Ogun, Jigawa, Kaduna, Zamfara, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Gombe.
The budget implementation report (BIR) is prepared and released by each state’s budget and planning unit showing the breakdown of the spendings of their ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) for the year.
According to BudgIT data, only 29 states had presented, on their respective websites, the performance reports from the first to the fourth quarter of 2022
The ICIR analysis of the total revenue, including over-budgeting of each state, revealed that Delta state had the highest performance ranking with 146.59 per cent when compared with its fiscal budget approved for 2022.
Gombe, Edo, Kaduna and Bayelsa followed with 101.03 per cent, 99.33 per cent, 98.02 per cent and 97.14 per cent respectively.
Others include Kogi at 86.11 per cent, Ekiti at 95.95 per cent, Ondo at 83.73 per cent, Osun at 86.64 per cent, Ogun at 82.86 per cent, Jigawa at 86.40 per cent, and Zamfara at 86.28 per cent.
Cross River and Sokoto states ranked the least on the performance ranking with 38.45 per cent and 39.54 per cent, respectively, of their budgets implemented in 2022.
By the end of 2022, Kwara and Bauchi states had only published three-quarters of their BIR documents. By this development, both states had implemented 67.98 per cent and 58.36 per cent, respectively, of their budgets.
Also, Benue, Sokoto, and Rivers states had published only two-quarters of their BIR documents which translated to 51.26 per cent, 39.54 per cent, and 42.22 per cent, respectively, implemented in the 2022 fiscal year.
The Acting Head of Open Government and Institutional Partnerships, BudgIT, Iyanuoluwa Bolarinwa, told The ICIR that the report was aimed at maintaining subnational transparency and the ability to get conversations going around in the states.
Bolarinwa mentioned that with 80 per cent of the state releasing their BIR documents, there was a level of progress in accountability of funds spent in the state.
“The report is to understand how the states are making progress in the aspect of making funds for their states to ensure that capital expenditure is not suffering, and also recurrent expenditures are not also suffering,” he added.
Data on the total revenue of Yobe state could not be verified, while Plateau state had not published their BIR document for 2022.
Kehinde Ogunyale tells stories by using data to hold power into account. You can send him a mail at jameskennyogunyale@gmail or Twitter: Prof_KennyJames | LinkedIn: Kehinde Ogunyale