BudgIT At 15: Nigeria Still Struggles With Transparency, Accountability

By Jane Okeke

BudgIT has marked its 15th anniversary with a warning that Nigeria still faces major gaps in fiscal transparency, accountability and citizen participation.

The Country Director of BudgIT Nigeria, Vahyala Kwaga, identified poor government disclosure, weak accountability institutions and economic hardship as key obstacles to effective democratic governance.

Speaking at an anniversary press briefing in Abuja on Monday, Kwaga said governments at all levels must make public financial information available voluntarily, rather than forcing citizens and civil society groups to rely on campaigns and formal requests.

He said transparency would have little impact if citizens could not use government data to demand accountability, adding that weak institutions often prevent information from translating into concrete action.

Kwaga also raised concerns over declining citizen participation, saying economic hardship has made it increasingly difficult for Nigerians to remain actively engaged in governance.

Reflecting on BudgIT’s 15-year journey, he said the organisation had reached more than 22 million Nigerians and expanded its operations beyond Nigeria to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal and Ghana, with an international office in Washington, D.C.

He said BudgIT had tracked 19,644 public projects valued at N8.5 trillion across 7,589 communities, while town-hall engagements had contributed to the completion of more than 11,800 projects worth N3.5 trillion.

Kwaga criticised what he described as excessive alterations to executive budget proposals by the National Assembly, arguing that lawmakers proposing and approving projects could create conflicts of interest and weaken expenditure oversight.

On the Tinubu administration, he acknowledged some progress in the fight against corruption but called for stronger respect for the rule of law, court orders, media freedom and greater openness in governance.

Looking ahead, Kwaga said BudgIT was considering expansion into two additional East African countries, while continuing to use civic technology, public data and citizen engagement to push for greater transparency and accountability across Africa.

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