BudgIT, a leading civic-tech organization advocating for transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s public finance, has asked the Budget Office of the Federation and the Office of the Minister for Finance to immediately make public how the third quarter 2022 budget was implemented in line with public finance extant legislation.
The civil advocacy organization in a statement issued on Friday noted that the quarter had ended about eight months ago and that based on extant law, the budget implementation report ought not to extend beyond 30 working days after the end of the quarter.
It pointed that its demand for the publication of the Q3 2022 budget performance became pertinent, having observed that up till now the report is neither in the Budget Office’s website or any domain or medium it could be easily accessed by the public.
Citing Section 30 (1) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 to justify its demand, the CSO quoted the provisions as stating that “it is the Minister of Finance’s responsibility, through the Budget Office of the Federation, to diligently monitor and evaluate the Annual Budget’s implementation. This involves the critical role of analyzing budgetary objectives and presenting thorough quarterly reports to both the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and the National Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.”
In addition, BudgIT also referred to Section 30 (2) which mandates the “Minister of Finance to ensure that the prepared reports, as per subsection (1), are published in mass media, electronic platforms, and on the official Ministry of Finance website no later than 30 days after the end of each quarter.”
Commenting on the implications of the delayed publication of the report for the public finance system the organization’s Head of Research and Policy Advisory, Iniobong Usen, said: “Delayed release of the Budget Implementation Report compromises accountability and leaves citizens in the dark regarding the management of public resources. The situation also hinders the timely intervention required when budget implementation is not going according to plan.”
