BudgIT Faults Govt Over Non-Publication Of Budget Reports

Civil society organisation, BudgIT, has faulted the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office of the Federation for failing to publish Quarterly Budget Implementation Reports (BIRs), describing it as a violation of the law, established practice, and a reversal of Nigeria’s fiscal transparency gains.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 2007 mandates, under Part V, Section 30, that the Minister of Finance must publish reports on the implementation of the annual budget within 30 days of the end of each quarter.

According to BudgIT, nearly four BIRs covering the period from the second quarter of 2024 to the second quarter of 2025 remain unpublished, leaving the country without a single report in almost one fiscal year.

“Budget Implementation Reports are not only a statutory requirement, they are critical indicators of transparency, providing evidence of how public resources are deployed. This proof of spending is necessary to evaluate the quality of budget implementation and the delivery of public goods and services,” BudgIT noted in a statement.

BudgIT noted that previous administrations maintained a minimum of three BIRs per fiscal year, but the current government has withheld information vital for private sector planning, civil society advocacy, and international credibility.

The civic organisation further warned that the neglect of fiscal disclosure extended beyond the BIRs to government platforms such as OpenTreasury.gov, once a central source of public financial data. The platform, which previously offered daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly expenditure records, has reportedly not been updated since January 2025.

BudgIT’s Group Head of Research and Policy Advisory, Vahyala Kwaga, describing the situation as a setback for Nigeria’s democratic accountability, said “the ability of a government to hold itself accountable to its laws is to be expected of a democracy such as ours. The non-publishing of crucial information by the Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office of the Federation should not be replaced by mere pronouncements in the media.

Citizens have a right to know and to be informed.”

It called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Ministry of Finance, and the Budget Office to immediately resume the publication of BIRs and other statutory disclosures, including the Federal Cash Plan Disbursement Schedule as provided under Section 26 of the FRA.

BudgIT also called on civil society groups, academia, the private sector, and the international community to join in demanding urgent publication of expenditure performance reports underpinning the implementation of the 2024 budget.

“This poor state of affairs must not continue. Nigeria must demonstrate that it operates according to accepted norms and conventions of international public finance. We all have a right to know,” BudgIT declared.