The Country Director of BudgIT Nigeria, Vahyala Kwaga, has identified poor government disclosure, weak accountability mechanisms and declining citizen participation as major challenges confronting fiscal transparency and democratic governance in Nigeria.
Kwaga spoke on Monday in Abuja during a press briefing to mark the 15th anniversary of BudgIT, a civic technology organisation focused on public finance transparency and citizen participation.
He said although Nigeria had recorded progress in making government budgets and spending information more accessible, voluntary disclosure by governments remained a major challenge.
According to him, citizens and civil society organisations still have to resort to advocacy campaigns and formal requests before accessing information that should ordinarily be available to the public.
“One of the greatest challenges is the willingness of governments at all levels to disclose information. It appears that voluntary disclosures have not yet really been normalised in Nigeria,” Kwaga said.
He also expressed concern over the quality, accessibility and timeliness of government data, noting that transparency would have little impact if citizens could not use available information to demand accountability.
“The second critical problem is translating transparency to accountability. Nigeria is still a developing democracy, and the institutions and arms of government that are meant to provide accountability still seem to struggle,” he said.
Kwaga said the situation often left citizens frustrated because information simplified and provided to them did not always translate into tangible outcomes.
He identified citizen engagement as another major challenge, saying economic hardship had made it difficult for many Nigerians to remain actively involved in governance.
“Democracy requires engaged, informed and active citizens. It is difficult to always have the attention and participation of citizens when they are battling with the economy and their livelihoods,” he said.
Speaking on BudgIT’s 15-year journey, Kwaga said the organisation had evolved from a small Nigerian initiative into a continental civic technology organisation operating in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal and Ghana, with an international office in Washington, D.C.
He said the organisation had reached more than 22 million people through its fiscal education and civic engagement initiatives, particularly young people and communities.
BudgIT, he said, had developed several civic technology platforms, including GovSpend, Tracka, State of States, Open States, PHC Accountability Tracker and the Federal Government Budget Dashboard.
According to him, the organisation has also built a social media community of more than 300,000 followers, with governance-related content generating over 20 million annual impressions.
On subnational fiscal transparency, Kwaga said BudgIT had published 10 editions of its State of States report, which assesses the fiscal viability of Nigeria’s 36 states.
He said the organisation, with support from the World Bank, helped increase the number of states publishing their budgets from three in 2014 to all 36 states.
Tracked N8.5tr projects
Kwaga said BudgIT’s community monitoring activities had tracked 19,644 projects valued at N8.5 trillion across 7,589 communities.
He added that the organisation had facilitated more than 7,612 town hall meetings nationwide, contributing to the completion of over 11,800 projects worth N3.5 trillion in health, education and infrastructure.
“These initiatives benefited more than 11.5 million Nigerians,” he said.
He also said BudgIT’s GovSpend platform had supported more than 60 media reports exposing potentially wasteful government spending estimated at over $250 billion.
The organisation, he added, had partnered with anti-corruption agencies, including the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on investigations involving about N220 billion, which contributed to the recovery of ambulances and other public property.
BudgIT backs anti-corruption agencies
Kwaga said the organisation had maintained cordial relationships with major anti-corruption and governance institutions, including the ICPC, EFCC, Code of Conduct Bureau, Bureau of Public Service Reforms and Bureau of Public Procurement.
He said BudgIT had signed memoranda of understanding with most of the agencies and was currently working to operationalise the agreements.
According to him, the partnerships demonstrated the importance of donor support to civil society organisations in building sustainable relationships with public institutions.
He said BudgIT had confidence in the anti-corruption agencies and expected recovered funds and assets to be handled in accordance with established laws and procedures.
Kwaga faults National Assembly’s budget insertions.
The BudgIT country director also criticised what he described as excessive alterations to executive budget proposals by the National Assembly.
He argued that allowing the legislature to propose projects and subsequently approve the same projects created a conflict of interest and undermined the doctrine of separation of powers.
“For the National Assembly or the legislature to, on one hand, propose projects and be the same arm that approves those projects, we think is an aberration and a violation of the doctrine of separation of powers,” Kwaga said.
He clarified that the National Assembly had constitutional powers to increase or reduce the size of the budget but argued that conflicts of interest arose when lawmakers introduced and approved projects without the same monitoring and evaluation processes available to the executive.
Kwaga claimed that the difference between the initial budget proposal and the final 2025 appropriation had reached about N6 trillion, compared with approximately N1 trillion in 2021 and 2022.
He, however, stressed that the figure was based on a preliminary calculation and could be higher.
He also raised concerns over the operation of concurrent budgets and the inclusion of capital projects through repeal and reenactment processes, saying such developments had made it increasingly difficult to track public expenditure.
BudgIT commends Tinubu administration’s anti-corruption efforts
Assessing the current administration’s anti-corruption efforts, Kwaga said there had been some positive developments, particularly Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring.
He, however, urged the government to strengthen the rule of law and ensure greater openness in governance.
“Corruption thrives where information is hidden, where accountability is minimal, and where citizens do not feel like they are part of the decision-making processes of governance,” he said.
Kwaga called for greater respect for court orders, protection of the media and journalism space, and economic policies that take into account the livelihoods of Nigerians.
He maintained that fighting corruption should not be viewed as the responsibility of the executive alone, noting that institutions across the justice sector must uphold transparency and integrity.
BudgIT plans further expansion
Kwaga said BudgIT’s 15-year milestone represented a transition from an organisation focused primarily on simplifying public budgets in Nigeria to a wider African movement for fiscal transparency and citizen empowerment.
He disclosed that the organisation was considering expanding its operations to two additional countries in East Africa.
He said BudgIT would continue to promote citizen participation, monitor public projects and work with government institutions, civil society and the media to improve transparency and accountability.
“Fifteen years ago, BudgIT set out to make Africa’s public budgets accessible to everyday citizens. Today, this mission has become a movement spanning five countries,” he said.
Kwaga added that the organisation would continue to push for transparent and accountable governance, stressing that “the power of citizen action is the critical force for change.”
