How inclusion aided Nigeria's improvement in open budget survey

The Nigerian government recorded an improvement in the 2021 Open Budget Survey (OBS) by the International Budget Partnership (IBP), BudgIT, a civic organisation that applies technology to intersect citizen engagement, has said.

Nigeria’s 2021 OBS performance can be attributed to its improved timeliness in publishing budget documents, improvement in inclusions in the budget processes, enhanced comprehensive documentation made available to the public and better institutional oversight roles in the budget process during the pandemic year, enhanced by the reviewed 2020 budget as a result of the pandemic and fluctuations in oil prices.

According to the survey which was conducted in 120 countries; Nigeria, Benin Republic and The Gambia made the league of the biggest improvers in the Open Budget Index, specifically on transparency, public participation and institutional oversight. The OBS is done bi-annually, and it is a global independent, comparative and regular assessment of transparency, institutional oversight and public participation in public budgets in 120 countries.

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Recall that Nigeria’s performance in the 2019 Open Budget Survey was below expectation, with a total score of 21/100 in transparency, 22/100 in public participation and 55/100 in institutional oversight. However, the 2021 OBS reveals that Nigeria has made some progress based on the three metrics used. According to the report, Nigeria scored 26/100 in public participation, 61/100 in oversight and 45/100 in transparency. The overall open budget index score stood at 45/100. “This depicts an all-round improvement in the 3 metrics although some are more significant than others,” said Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s country director.

“We are heartened to see the progress that Nigeria and other countries have made in the survey,” said Austin Ndiokwelu, Nigeria’s country manager for IBP. “Inclusion pays dividends. We urge governments to sustain progress and engage communities more meaningfully around revenue and spending priorities. Community feedback can help governments better manage vital public resources.” he added.

“We are delighted to see the commendable improvements made by Nigeria in the 2021 Open Budget Survey”, Okeowo added. “There is still a need for better transparency, enhanced mechanisms for public participation and engagements in the budget process, oversight functions performed by the supreme audit institution and the legislature, and improved timeliness in publishing detailed budget documents, especially audit reports”.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.