James Emejo in Abuja
A report has highlighted the failure of most states of the federation to provide meaningful opportunities for the public to participate in the budget process.
The report said governments had not been transparent about how they raised and allocated funds and had not been held accountable for implementing decisions.
According to the 2018 Nigerian States Budget Transparency Survey Results launched yesterday by the Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC), only two states: Jigawa and Anambra, out of the 36 states surveyed offered genuine participation opportunities.
The report expressed concerns that without opportunities for citizens’ active participation, particularly citizens from marginalised or vulnerable groups, budget systems may only serve the interests of powerful elites.
It noted that most of the states provided minimal information on the budget, few spaces for public participation, and limited information on the procurement process.
Speaking at the public presentation of the report, CIRDDOC Lead Researcher/Project Coordinator, Ralph Ndigwe, said budget debates were often relegated to economists and other experts, limiting the broader public’s input on the sources of public resources, how they should be spent, and who should benefit from public expenditure.
“All citizens have the right to participate in the budget process and to know where public resources come from, how they are spent, and how expenditure is linked to achieving development goals,” he said.
He added that though the overall score had improved by three points when compared to 2015 survey results with an average score of 29, most states didn’t publish enough budget information, saying states have limited spaces for citizens to be involved in the budget process, or be provided with minimal information.
According to him, 13 states had almost no budget information, non-existent spaces for public consultation, and opaque procurement processes.
Further analysis showed that only Jigawa State scored above 60 on all three sub-indices including availability of key budget documents, public participation and procurement transparency.
The report, nevertheless, many states have made improvements in the “robustness and transparency of the procurement process when compared to 2015.”
Among other things, it noted that 30 states have a legal framework guiding the procurement process, while 33 states have some forms of a public procurement bureau to guide the process.
Meanwhile, representative of the World Bank, Sabah Rashid, has said social contract and transparency were key to building trust.
She said efforts should be made where there have been improvements towards ensuring sustainability and protection, lamenting that some of the previous states which recorded improvements in earlier studies had relapsed.
She expressed satisfaction that 23 states had been able to publish their budgets on their websites, describing it as unprecedented in the history of the country, adding that such feats should be preserved going forward.
