“Nigerians have no reliable way of scrutinising the national budget. The citizen’s portal of the Nigerian Budget Office of the Federation is often offline, and when it is online, it is highly technical and difficult for ordinary citizens to understand. Data on the Nigerian budget sourced elsewhere online is also frequently hard to find and incomplete. As a result, the Nigerian budget is treated like a government secret and Nigerian citizens are unable to effectively scrutinise the government’s income and expenditure decisions. My research shows that this disrupts the social contract between the citizens and the government of Nigeria and creates an opportunity for corruption. The World Justice Project estimates that corruption has cost the Nigerian economy more than US$550 billion since 1960. And a report by the accounting firm PwC shows that corruption in Nigeria could cost up to 37% of the nation’s GDP by 2030 if it’s not dealt with immediately. I am an economist whose research focuses on poverty and corruption reduction. In a recent paper , I show how secrecy fuels corruption in the management of Nigeria’s finances. I set out how citizen monitoring and digital engagement can enhance transparency and accountability. I also identify some obstacles to making this a reality in Nigeria. These include technical capacity limitations, weak enforcement mechanisms, and political resistance. To overcome these challenges, the government must invest in digital infrastructure. Fostering civic engagement and independent oversight, too, can ensure sustained accountability and effective implementation. Budgetary secrecy and corruption in Nigeria The Open Budget Survey is produced by the International Budget Partnership. It provides the main global assessment of budget accountability in the world and evaluates: public participation: formal and meaningful opportunities for the public to engage in the national budget process oversight: institutions such as the legislature, national audit office and independent bodies transparency: comprehensive budget information, made available to the public in a timely and accessible manner. Nigeria performed poorly in the 2023 survey. It scored 19/100 in public participation, 61/100 in oversight, and 31/100 in transparency. It ranked 92 out of 125 countries. This was below several African peers and the global average of 45. This marks a decline from 2021. Nigeria scored higher then in public participation (26) and transparency (45), while oversight has remained unchanged. The drop is largely due to the government’s failure to publish key fiscal reports on time. These include in-year reports and mid-year reviews. The source of the problem My research found that government budgetary secrecy and corruption in Nigeria have historical roots. They stem from the era of colonial taxation, when colonialists collected taxes but didn’t invest in the people’s wellbeing. But these bad practices have intensified since independence. About 47% of Nigeria’s 232.68 million people live in multidimensional poverty . This is a clear sign that Nigeria is not spending its resources wisely. Development, job creation and service delivery are all lacking. My research found that even when funds are budgeted, secrecy facilitates fraud in a number of ways. The first way is through vaguely specified budgeted projects. Many projects are listed without quantity or location. They use terms like “ empowerment and sensitisation ” or “ provision of infrastructure ”. Secondly, through the budgeting of non-beneficial initiatives . Nigeria’s approved federal budget for 2025 included US$1.5 billion for health, US$2.5 billion for education and US$1.7 billion for agriculture. However, a whopping US$17 billion was allocated for the presidency . Thirdly, through inflated figures for budgeted items. For example, the purchase of a car for ₦375 million (US$278,000). Fourth, through the under-delivery and abandonment of projects. Nigeria’s budgetary corruption is reinforced by a complex three-tier system of budgeting at the federal, state, and local government levels. At the federal level, the budget is prepared by the executive (president and ministries). It is coordinated by the Budget Office , approved by the National Assembly, and enacted as the “ Appropriation Act ”. However, limited and delayed fiscal disclosures enable budget padding , vague allocations, and weak expenditure tracking. At the state level, budgets are prepared by governors and state ministries. They are approved by the State Houses of Assembly, focusing on state needs. However, inconsistent publication of budgets and reports at this level makes it difficult to monitor spending and creates room for misallocation. At the local level, budgets are prepared by local government officials. However, they are heavily influenced by state governments and approved by local councils. Here, a lack of financial autonomy and state control over funds leads to diversion, ghost projects, and minimal accountability to citizens. The solution The Nigerian government says it also has an Open Treasury Portal that provides transparency in its budgeting system. My research shows that this platform also suffers from technical glitches, incomplete data, and low enforcement. BudgIT , a Nigerian civic technology organisation, uses data visualisation and storytelling to try to make the government budget more accessible to citizens, but its impact is also limited by insufficient data availability. Advances in information technology make it possible for Nigeria to build a real-time online government budget system that the public can access and monitor. This would cover financial statements and reports across federal, state and local governments. Nigerians could also use a system like this to vote on projects the government should focus on. South Korea has a similar model . Known as the Digital Budget and Accounting System ( dBrain ), it is a fully integrated system for budget planning, execution and monitoring of government finances across agencies in real time. Another country, Georgia, has an e-budget transparency system . It provides real-time budget execution data and is integrated with the goverment’s e-procurement and treasury systems. The US also has the USAspending.gov service, which tracks federal spending in real time and provides publicly accessible and searchable data on what the federal government spends. Importantly, real-time online budget monitoring enables quick detection of corruption, but its effectiveness depends on clear and consistently enforced penalties. What needs to be done An online government budget system which the public could monitor would improve transparency and accountability in Nigeria. Technologies such as Enterprise Resource Planning systems and Integrated Financial Management Information systems enable real-time budget tracking and integrated financial management. Blockchain can further strengthen transparency through secure records. Also, cloud computing can improve accessibility and data security. Data analytics and AI can enhance forecasting, automate monitoring, and improve decision-making. This would make budgeting more efficient, transparent and responsive. The Nigeria Tax Administration Act has introduced a digital tax system requiring Nigerian taxpayers to keep accurate transaction records. The Nigerian government aims to use this to improve efficiency, accuracy and transparency in its tax system. The government should implement a similar system for all its own financial transactions. Tolu Olarewaju does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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