The transparency level of the Federal Government (FG)’s budget has almost doubled by 21 per cent to to 45 per cent, a report from the 2021 Open Budget Survey (OBS) has shown. It was 24 per cent in 2019.
The report, which was unveiled in Abuja was undertaken by the International Budget Partnership (IPB) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the Budget Office of the Federation.
Presenting the report, the Senior Programme Officer of IBP, Sally Torbert, said the 45 per cent score showed that Nigeria had improved in its budget formulation, planning and implementation.
Torbert said, “The outcome of the survey, which is the report we are presenting today, shows that the transparency level of Nigeria’s government budget has improved by 21 per cent from the 24 per cent recorded in 2019 to 45 per cent now recorded in 2021.
Earlier in her virtual remarks, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said the ministry considered the partnership with IBP as key to improving the budgeting process from formulation to implementation
She emphasised the importance of transparency of the budgeting process, while pledging the federal government’s commitment in engaging with citizens in budget processes.
Reacting to the report, the Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr Ben Akabueze, said the revelation of the report was an indication that the country was making progress, while pledging that “citizens feedback will be taken into consideration while preparing the 2023 budget.”
