BudgIT yesterday commended the Federal Government’s performance and huge improvement in the recently released 2021 Open budget survey (OBS) by the International Budget Partnership (IBP). 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, as a global independent, comparative and regular assessment of transparency, institutional oversight and public participation in public budgets in 120 countries.
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 3 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.
Nigeria’s 2021 OBS performance can be attributed to its improved timeliness in publishing budget documents, improvements 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.