BudgIT says only 10 states have publicly accessible LGA budgets

BudgIT, a civic tech organisation, says only 10 states currently publish accessible local government area (LGA) budget data.

In a report, titled ‘The Missing Tier: Mapping Local Government Budget Transparency in Nigeria,’ the organisation said six states share partial or outdated information while 18 states publish nothing.

The firm said budgets are maintained at local government secretariats across Nigeria.

BudgIT said local government chairmen submit appropriation bills, which councils approve, while monthly allocations are disbursed from the federation account.

“Yet for most of Nigeria’s 774 local governments, those budgets are not publicly accessible online,” the civic tech firm said.

BudgIT said only a small number of states provide accessible data on LGAs.

The report said Ekiti state was a leading example nationwide.

The organisation said the state publishes individual 2026 budgets for all its 16 LGAs and 22 LCDAs, with each entity accompanied by a signed PDF, town hall consultation minutes, and a national chart of accounts (NCOA)-formatted excel template.

BudgIT said Cross River state strengthens accountability by publishing individual 2025 budgets, 2024 audited accounts, and quarterly budget performance reports for all councils.

The report also noted that Borno state, which has 27 LGAs, provides a consolidated 2025 budget, along with individual council zone improvement plan (ZIP) documents and 2024 audited financial statements, indicating a well-established system

“Other states with published LGA budget documents include Ebonyi State (13 LGAs), Osun State (30 LGAs), Kebbi State (21 LGAs), Kogi State (21 LGAs; budgets published but no audits or performance reports), Enugu State (17 LGAs; consolidated budget), Kaduna State (23 LGAs; medium-term consolidated LG council budget) and Yobe State (17 LGAs; consolidated 2025 LGA budget),” the agency said.

BudgIT said six states provide incomplete or outdated LGA budget data.

According to the report, Kano state published first quarter (Q1) 2025 budget performance reports and maintains a local government audit portal, “but no full-year approved council budgets were found”.

In Imo state, the report noted that there is no published “LGA budget, though a 2024 Accountant-General LGA Financial Statement is available”.

Ondo state, BudgIT said, only provided documents for only 14 LGAs.

The organisation said Anambra state published the 2026 LGA appropriation law without detailed line-item budgets.

Likewise, BudgIT said Ogun state provided only 2024 LGA data.

The civic tech organisation said 20 states do not publish any LGA budget documents.

“These include Abia State, Adamawa State, Akwa Ibom State, Bauchi State, Bayelsa State, Benue State, Delta State, Edo State, Gombe State, Jigawa State, Katsina State, Lagos State, Nasarawa State, Niger State, Oyo State, Plateau State, Rivers State (despite a 2026 state budget exceeding N1 trillion), Sokoto State, Taraba State, and Zamfara State,” Budgit said.

The report noted that local government budgets are prepared, reviewed, and funded across Nigeria.

BudgIT added that the main gap in most states is not the existence of the documents, but the lack of public access to them.

“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.

“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.”

BudgIT said this is not a herculean task; it is standard transparency.

The civic tech organisation added that when LGA budgets are made public, citizens can understand government priorities, scrutinise allocations, and hold officials accountable for performance.

“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.”

The organisation said achieving this requires nothing more than commitment and adherence to long-established principles.