Nigeria Records Best Performance in Global Budget Survey
Nigeria has posted its best performance in the 2021 Open Budget Survey (OBS), released by the International Budget Partnership (IBP).
The survey which was conducted in 120 countries saw Nigeria taking a leap from the previous 21 spot in 2019, to 45, improving by 24 points in budget transparency and public participation.
This was revealed at the official launch of the Open Budget Survey 2021 Report, which was unveiled yesterday in Abuja.
Nigeria, Sierra Leone and
The Gambia made the biggest improvement in the Open Budget Index, specifically on transparency, public participation and institutional oversight among 120 countries assessed.
The OBS is a global, independent, comparative and regular assessment of transparency, institutional oversight and public participation in public budgets in 120 countries, and it is conducted bi-annually.
Presenting the report, the Senior Programme Manager, International Budget Partnership, Sally Torbert, said Nigeria’s performance was the second highest improvement worldwide.
On the survey, Torbert said: "The basis for the OBS is 145 score indicators based on international practices and standards.
"These indicators measure the public availability and comprehensiveness of the yearly budget documents, the role and effectiveness of our oversight institutions and opportunities for public participation in the budget process.
"We undertake a rigorous research process that is led by civil society researchers and subjected to peer review in that area. It has a long standing partnership with the budget and was led on the research proposal since 2020.
"We also invite national governments to comment on the draft results and we were grateful for the detailed feedback received from the budget office of Nigeria. "Importantly, the survey is more than a research; it is a tool for civic engagement and an exercise of citizens. And it documents the progress made in open budgeting practices and provides a roadmap for where countries can improve."
Noting that Nigeria’s improvement to the 45 spot was commendable, she however, stated that the country needed to accelerate progress on budget transparency and participation, and aim to hit the 61st spot.
“This shows that even as Nigeria has made much progress this round, there is still possibilities to go further. The OBS sets the benchmark for sufficient information at 61 out of 100. And there are ways that Nigeria could continue upward trend as seen in this round and aim to hit that benchmark and even surpass within just a few years.
“So here are some reforms that could be considered to catapult Nigeria into the ranks of the countries that meet the benchmark for sufficient information. First is enhancing the budget proposal with additional information.
“It could be simple things such as spending trends overtime so you can see how spending administrative sector is changing over the years.
“It also could include performance indicators and targets and what the government hopes to achieve with public spending.
She said the IBP would do whatever was required to encourage Nigeria to hit the 61st spot.
Responding to a question on the country’s audit process, Torbert regretted that it was an area Nigeria needed to work very hard, adding that audit reports take over three years to be unveiled.
According to her, this should be reduced to at least 18 months.
She said: "Audit is an incredibly important part of the oversight of the government budget. Those audit reports are where that is documented, and the auditor general gives their recommendations and their findings when they review the government financial statements.
"So yes, those reports are a really critical oversight mechanism for public spending. So in some cases, it's parliament who really needs to ensure that the auditor general has a strong legal framework for when and how they should be releasing their audit report at the end of the year.
"In many countries, it starts with parliament, having both a clear