Opaque budgeting in focus, as Lagos ranks 27th on fiscal transparency table

A new report by BudgIT has placed all these in proper perspective, ranking Lagos 27th on a list of the country’s most fiscally transparent states for the first quarter of 2024. Lagos scored 54% out of a maximum 100%, a rather poor showing for a state th

Lagos is by far the wealthiest state in Nigeria. However, years of opaque budget practices have continued to cast a dark shadow over how the state generates and spends public funds.

In the early 2000s, when the state was starved of funds due to a face-off with the Federal Government, Lagos under Governor Bola Tinubu implemented radical changes to its revenue drive, fashioning what eventually became a masterstroke in revenue mobilisation in Nigeria. Consequently, Lagos State built a revenue model that saw it outperform its peers, setting the stage to generate internal funds that outstrip its allocation from the Central Government.

However, over the years, citizens, Non-Governmental Organisations and other Civil Society Organisations have queried the failure of the government to properly account for public funds, amid accusations of budget padding, misappropriation and misapplication.  

A new report by BudgIT has placed all these in proper perspective, ranking Lagos 27th on a list of the c…