Akwa Ibom, Rivers excluded from BudgIT's post-subsidy state finance analysis over missing budget records
Akwa Ibom and Rivers states were left out of BudgIT's latest report analyzing how Nigerian states managed post-subsidy revenue gains because they failed to publish complete Quarter One to Quarter Four Budget Implementation Reports for 2022-2025. While 34 other states were assessed using actual revenue and expenditure data (not just approved budgets), the exclusion means citizens in these oil-producing states cannot independently track how billions in increased federal allocations are spent mid-year. BudgIT found aggregate revenue among the analyzed states jumped from N4.840 trillion in 2022 to N15.526 trillion in 2025—a 220.76% nominal growth driven by higher federal transfers, currency devaluation, and improved tax collection. The report specifically examined spending on education, health, infrastructure, and administration, but this comparison is impossible for Akwa Ibom and Rivers without their quarterly fiscal records. Akwa Ibom's government defends its shift to concise reports as citizen-friendly, though it previously published detailed 20+ page BIRs now reduced to 5-page summaries. Rivers State's gap stems from its prolonged executive-legislature political crisis disrupting budget processes. BudgIT's Country Director warns this creates an accountability gap: citizens lack the tools to question real-time spending while projects are ongoing, forcing them to wait for delayed audited accounts. Without access to quarterly spending details, how can citizens in Akwa Ibom and Rivers effectively monitor if their states' massive revenue increases are translating into tangible development?