Citizens Report 2017

Abandoned Projects

Citizens’ Report on Budgets of Selected States
of Nigeria, 2017

Social Development Integrated Centre (Social Action)

Contents

List of Figures i

List of Abbreviations iii

Acknowledgments iv

Introduction 1
Nigeria in 2017: An Overview
Copyright © 2018 Social Development Integrated Centre (Social Action) Crude oil and Nigeria’s economic performance 3
ISBN: 978-978-56078-8-8 Domestic macroeconomic performance 3
Published by: Non-Oil Sector 4
Social Development Integrated Centre (Social Action) External Reserves 4
33, Oromineke Layout, D-Line Port Harcourt, Nigeria A trend of budget deficits 4
Tel: +234 (0)84 360903 Growing public debt 5
www.saction.org Debt servicing burden 5

Conclusions from Monitoring Budget Implementation in 2017 5

Recommendation
To States …………………………………………………………………7
To Citizens ……………………………………………………………….7

Abia State Budget Performance
Budget Analysis …………………………………………………………9
Budget Monitoring Report………………………………………………14
Conclusion and Recommendation ……………………………………19

Akwa Ibom State Budget Performance
Budget Analysis …………………………………………………………21

Budget Monitoring Report………………………………………………25
Conclusion and Recommendation ……………………………………29

Bayelsa State Budget Performance
Budget Analysis …………………………………………………………31
Budget Monitoring Report………………………………………………35
Conclusion and Recommendation ……………………………………37

Delta State Budget Performance
Budget Analysis …………………………………………………………39.
Budget Monitoring Report………………………………………………43
Conclusion and Recommendation ……………………………………46

Kano State Budget Performance
Budget Analysis …………………………………………………………47
Budget Monitoring Report………………………………………………51
Conclusion and Recommendation ……………………………………54

Nasarawa State Budget Performance
Budget Analysis …………………………………………………………55
Budget Monitoring Report………………………………………………59
Conclusion and Recommendation ……………………………………61

i ii

List of Figures Graph 4.1: Summary of Delta State Budget of Prudence and Self-Relianc
Graph 4.2: 2016 Budget Performance
Fig 1. 9 Niger Delta States Earnngs from 1999 - 2016 Graph 4.3: Source of Funding 2017 Budget Graph 4.4: 2017 Recurrent and Capital Share
Fig 2: Crude oil Price 2017 Graph 4.5: Capital allocation to Education against other capital outlay in the budget
Fig 3: Nigeria’s GDP in the 4th quarter of 2016/2017 Graph 4.6: Capital allocation to Health Sub-Sector against other capital outlay in the budget
Fig 4: Domestic Macroeconomic Performance Graph 4.7: Capital allocation to Food Sufficiency Sub-Sector against other capital outlay in the budget
Fig 5: External Reserve 2016 vs 2017 Fig 1.1 - Fig 1.8: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR EDUCATION SECTOR IN DELTA STATE
Fig 6: Debt Service Durden Fig 1.9- Fig 1.14: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR HEALTH SECTOR IN DELTA STATE
Fig 7: Debt profile of six Niger Delta State as at 2017
Fig 1.15 - Fig 1.18: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR FOOD FOOD SUFFICIENCY SECTOR IN DELTA STATE
Graph 1.1: Summary of 2016 Budget Performance (January - September)
Graph 2.1: Summary of Abia State Budget of Prudence and Self-Reliance Graph 5.1: Summary of 2016 Budget (January - September)
Graph 1.3: Source of Funding 2017 Graph 5.2: Summary of 2016 Budget (January - September)
Graph 1.4: 2017 Budget Size- Recurrent and Capital Share Graph 5.3: 2017 Source of funds Graph 5.4: 2017 Budget Size- Recurrent and Capital Share
Graph 1.6: Capital allocation to Health Subsector against other capital outlay in the budget Graph 5.5: Capital allocation to Education against other capital outlay in the budget
Graph 1.7: Capital allocation to Food Sufficiency against other capital outlay in the budget Graph 5.6: Capital allocation to Health Sub-sector against other capital outlay in the budget
Fig 1.1 - Fig 1.8: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR EDUCATION SECTOR IN ABIA STATE Graph 5.7: Capital allocation to Food Sufficiency against other capital outlay in the budget
Fig 1.9- Fig 1.14: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR HEALTH SECTOR IN ABIA STATE Fig 5.1 - Fig 5.8: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR EDUCATION SECTOR IN DELTA STATE
Fig 1.15 - Fig 1.18: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR FOOD FOOD SUFFICIENCY SECTOR IN ABIA STATE Fig 5.9- Fig 5.14: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR HEALTH SECTOR IN DELTA STATE
Fig 5.15 - Fig 5.18: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR FOOD FOOD SUFFICIENCY SECTOR IN DELTA STATE
Graph 2.1: 2016 Budget Recurrenet /Capital Expenditure Performance (January - September)
Graph 2. 2 Summary of Akwa Ibom State Budget Of Consolidation Graph 6.1: Summary of 2016 Budget (January - December)
Graph 2. 3: 2017 Source of Funds Graph 6.2: Summary of 2016 Budget (January - October)
Graph 2. 4: 2017 Budget Size- Recurrent and Capital Share Graph 6.3: Source of funding the 2017 Budget
Graph 2. 5: Capital allocation to Education against other capital outlay in the budget Graph 6.4: 2017 Budget Size- Recurrent and Capital Share
Graph 2. 6: Capital allocation to Health Sub-sector against other capital outlay in the budget Graph 6.5: Capital allocaation to education subsector in the budget
Graph 2. 7: Capital allocation to Food Sufficiency against other capital outlay in the budget Graph 6.6: Capital Allocaation to Health Subsector in the Budget
Fig 1.1 - Fig 1.8: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR EDUCATION SECTOR IN AKWA IBOM STATE Graph 6.7: Capital Allocaation to Health Subsector in the Budget
Fig 1.9- Fig 1.14: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR HEALTH SECTOR IN AKWA IBOM STATE Fig 5.1 - Fig 5.8: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR EDUCATION SECTOR IN DELTA STATE
Fig 1.15 - Fig 1.18: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR FOOD FOOD SUFFICIENCY SECTOR IN AKWA IBOM STATE Fig 5.9- Fig 5.14: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR HEALTH SECTOR IN DELTA STATE
Fig 5.15 - Fig 5.18: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR FOOD FOOD SUFFICIENCY SECTOR IN DELTA STATE

Graph 3.1: Summary of 2016 Budget (January - December)
Graph 3..2: 2016 Budget Recurrenet /Capital Expenditure Performance
Graph 3.3: Source of funding the 2017 Budget
Graph 3.3: Source of funding the 2017 Budget

Graph 3.4: Capital allocation to Food Sufficiency against other capital outlay in the budget

Graph 3.5: Capital allocation to Education against other capital outlay in the budget

Graph 3.6: Capital allocation to Health Sub-sector against other capital outlay in the budget
Fig 1.1 - Fig 1.8: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR EDUCATION SECTOR IN BAYELSA STATE
Fig 1.9- Fig 1.14: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR HEALTH SECTOR IN BAYELSA STATE
Fig 1.15 - Fig 1.18: CAPITAL PROJECT PICTRES FOR FOOD FOOD SUFFICIENCY SECTOR IN BAYELSA STATE

iii iv

List of Abbreviations Acknowledgements

MDA: Ministries, Departments and Agencies This report by the Niger Delta Citizens and Member organizations of the NDCBP contribut-
NDDC: Niger Delta Development Commission Budget Platform, coordinated by the Social ed immensely to realizing the objectives in 2016.
DESOPADEC: Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission Development Integrated Centre (Social Action), In particular we thank Social Development Inte-
NDCBP: Niger Delta Citizens and Budget Platform is a product of a yearlong research in states in grated Centre (Social Action), Kebetkache Wom-
DELSU: Delta State University Nigeria, namely Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, en Development and Resource Centre, Stake-
USAID: United States Agency for International Development Nasarawa, Kano and Abia. holder Democracy Network (SDN), Centre for
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The background section, which examines some Environment, Human Rights and Development
EFCC: Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of the major social and political developments (CEHRD), Bayelsa NGO Forum (BANGOF),
ICPC: Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission in Nigeria and the Niger Delta in 2017, was writ- Centre for Sustainable Peace Initiative Nigeria
NEITI: Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative ten by Peter Mazzi, Nathan Okonta and Isaac (C-SPIN), Foundation for Non Violent Social
DMO: Debt Management Office Botti. Change, and Action for Community Develop-
NDPHC: Niger Delta Power Holding Company The analyses of state budgets were done by Pe- ment.
OMPADEC: Oil Minerals Producing Area Development Commission ter Mazzi, Isaac Botti and Ekpere Prince. This report has been made possible through a
UNEP: United Nations Environmental Programme Monitoring of budgeted expenditures grant by Mac Arthur Foundation to Social Action
HYPREP: Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project in the five states was led by Sebastian in the framework of its Anti Corruption pro-
PIB: Petroleum Industry Bill Kpalap, Peter Mazzi, Uzo Ogbonnaya Robinson gramme.
NNPC: Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Kuroghobogha, Bonney Akaeze, Ekpere Prince,
IGR: Internally Generated Revenue Pius Dukor, Anino Atsekurubu, Isaac Botti, Nasi-
SA: Special Adviser ru Kura, Henry Nwaigwe, Daniel Kalu and Isaac
SSA: Senior Special Adviser Desmond.
VAT: Value Added Tax
RIVSACA: Rivers State Agency for the Control of AIDS
SDN: Stakeholder Democracy Network
CEHRD: Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development
BANGOF: Bayelsa Non-Governmental Organization’s Forum
C-SPIN: Centre for Sustainable Peace Initiative Nigeria
CSO: Civil Society Organisation
EDOCSO Edo Civil Society Organisation

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state could not gain access to public budget documents, al Anti-Corruption day with rallies in Abuja and Port Har-
which the government has kept secret, highlighting an court. The rallies targeted those who in the respective
unfortunate and severe case of fiscal opacity. states have the responsibilities of fighting corruption
As an output from Social Action’s anti-corruption efforts with the explicit aim of persuading them into doing their
at the sub-national level of government in Nigeria during jobs of ensuring that corruption is expressly outlawed
the year, 2017, the document highlights what could be and criminalised in their states while encouraging the
achieved through training, sensitisation and public cam- citizens to participate actively in demanding for trans-
paigns. The findings of budget analyses and monitoring parency and accountability from their public officials.
at the sub-national level provide tools for further public
advocacy by members of the anti-corruption network
composed of citizens and civil society organisations at
the grassroots level.

Anti-Corruption Networks (AcoNets)
The Anti-Corruption Networks (AcoNets) com-
prises citizens activists and civil society organisations
(CSOs) in the focal states in the Niger Delta region. The
networks are intended as open spaces for creating op-
portunities for ordinary people to engage and participate
in amplifying anti-corruption efforts and interventions in
the focal states and local government areas (LGAs).
The goal is to create and improve public accountability
and efficacy in the deployment of government resourc-
es. Citizens must act together to defeat corruption and
spread poverty, restiveness, inadequate healthcare, ensure that public resources are used for the develop- The rally further highlighted the blighting effects of cor-
substandard public education and dilapidated infra- ment of social infrastructure that benefits the people. ruption in the states by calling public attention to specif-
structure. Agencies and governments in the states vest- ic examples of how corrupting practices have 1) under-
ed with the responsibility to manage the commonwealth AAsnidteicforormrubputdiognet Rreavlileywhs ealnddinmoPnoitrotrinHga, rScoocuiarltAc- mined the educational infrastructures, 2) substantively
of the people on their behalf have done a little more than curtailed the availability of and access to recognisable
renovating a few roads and schools while the recurrent tion also set up mechanisms for tackling corrupt prac- health-care and 3) sabotaged sensible agricultural pol-
expenditure which takes care of their official overhead, tices, particularly in the Niger Delta region. To achieve icies in the states as the 2017 budget assessment re-
and humongous allocation to security votes, which are network objectives, hubs in each of the five focal Niger vealed.
unaccounted for, keep swelling. Delta states were provided with communication and
public awareness training for both the collaborating
partners and local actors. Social Action also organised
Introduction
workshops in collaboration with community activists and Towards open budgets at the sub-national
civil society groups in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, level
and Rivers states. Participants benefited from training As indicated above, there was no budget moni-
on how to advocate for government transparency, ac- toring in Rivers State because since the present gover-
Strengthening citizens’ advocacy against This report contains analyses and findings from the par- countability and nor of the state, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, assumed office
corruption in the Niger Delta ticipatory and collaborative monitoring of the implemen-
tation of the 2017 budgets of selected states of Nigeria fiscal responsibility in their in 2015, no budget has ever
In Nigeria, there is need to give more attention to the as carried out by members of the Anti-Corruption Net- been made public. Budget
management of public resources at the sub-national works (AcoNets)coordinated by the Social Development respective states. Facilita- Over N7 trillion accrued to the secrecy is a significant obsta-
levels of government. This is because about 50% of Integrated Centre (Social Action). The report contains tors underscored how the states and local government cle to financial transparen-
federally collected revenues are expended by the states summaries of the reviews of budgetary allocations and existing laws and policies cy and accountability in the
and local governments that receive monthly allocations the monitoring of the subsequent execution of the proj- are useful tools in
from the Federation Account. Inadequate citizens’ focus ects for which the allocations were made. In 2017, So- exposing and ultimately in the 9 Niger Delta state in 18 state. AcoNet is committed to
on these lower tiers of government encourages corrup- cial Action ’s anticorruption advocacy focuses on the Ni- combating corruption be- years (1999 -2016), based on continuing its effort to make
tion, which is the main reason that, after decades of oil ger Delta states, the south-eastern states and selected cause they provide citizens the budget of Rivers State
exploitation and financial accruals therefrom, states in northern states. The fieldwork for this report was, how- public once again. The Port
Nigeria have remained poor and lacking in necessary ever, carried out in selected stated which include Akwa with the platforms to act the 13% derivation principle. Harcourt cluster of the Rivers
infrastructures. For example, over N7 trillion accrued to Ibom, Bayelsa and Delta states in the south-south. Also
the states and local government in the 9 Niger Delta included is the report from the south-eastern state of State Civil Society Organiza-
state in 18 years (1999 -2016), based on the 13% der- Abia, as well as the northern states of Nasarawa and either as individuals, groups or organisations to report tions (RIVSCO), which is a hub of AcoNet has created
ivation principle. However, there is very little to show Kano. While the original intention was to include Rivers corruption. an open budget group to ensure that this objective is
for the revenue1. The reality on ground is that of wide- State, Social Action and its civil society partners in the
achieved.
Rallies were organized in the states to flag off the An-
ti-Corruption Campaign. On the 9th of December, 2017
1 Social Action (2010). Borrow and Spend. http://saction.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/spend_and_borrow.pdf Social Action collaborated with other community groups In the other states included in this report, our budget im-
and Civil Society Organisations to mark the Internation- plementation monitoring and the dissemination efforts
that followed geared toward bringing to the attention of

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the citizens of the states the level of corruptions in- of total real GDP in the third quarter of 2017. The signif- Fig 3: Nigeria’s GDP in the 4th quarter of Fig 4: Domestic Macroeconomic Performance
hered in the budget implementation process. This is icant increase in crude oil price from $38 in early 2017 2016/2017
intended for the citizens of these states to become to $56 by the third quarter of 2017 was a great relief to
more involved in the processes of fiscal governance the Nigeria government. According to OPEC, annual Fig 5: External Reserve 2016 vs 2017 Fig 6: Debt Service Durden
to flag both ongoing and nascent cases of corrupt crude oil price for 2017 averaged $52.43 per barrel2,
practices in the budget implementation process. The which was a gain upon Nigeria’s benchmark price Non-Oil Sector: representing the highest level it has been since 2015
dissemination efforts were also to retain or maintain of $44.50 per barrel used for public budgeting in the The Nigerian non-oil sector, which includes telecom- when the price of crude oil was significantly higher6.
public awareness and push on specific cases of un- same year. This created optimism in the states espe- munication, trade, agriculture, electricity and services,
completed or abandoned schools, hospitals and agri- cially in states like Nasarawa and Akwa Ibom that was
cultural projects in the states. This type of citizen en- in 2016 unable to pay its workers.
gagement was exhibited most vividly when the Edo
State Civil Society  Organisation (EDOCSO) recently Domestic macroeconomic performance
took the Edo State Oil Producing Area Development For the first time since Nigeria’s economy went into
Commission (ESOPADEC) to court for disclosure of
documents relating to some abandoned projects in the recession in early 2016, the nation’s economy recorded
state. EDOCSO utilised statistical and other data pro- positive growth of 1.4 percent in the last quarter of 20173.
vided by AcoNet in its briefs to the court.
AcoNet in furtherance of Niger Delta citizens active Real GDP growth experienced positive up-
participation in anti-corruption fight is creating an An- turn for consecutively two quarters, succeeding
ti-Corruption Tracker portal – a social media platform the five quarters of contraction. The growth was
dashboard that will document and track all known cas- 3.74 % higher than the rate recorded in the cor-
es of corruptions in the states. The platform will also al- responding quarter of 2016, which was –2.34 %4.
low citizens to follow the cases in real time and to com-
ment and interact with each other as the cases wind On a quarter-by-quarter basis, real GDP grew by
themselves through the judicial processes. These en- 8.97 % while on a year-to-year basis its growth
gagements will: 1) increase public awareness of these stood at 0.83 %. Nigeria’s GDP in the fourth quar-
cases; 2) ensure that those prosecuting the cases are ter of 2017 stood at ₦31.2 trillion which was high-
diligent because of the public scrutiny; and 3) act as er than the ₦29.7 trillion recorded in the corre-
a disincentive for corruption because of the negative sponding fourth quarter of 2016, resulting in a
publicity that will be generated or engendered in the nominal GDP growth rate of 12.05 %; higher by 4.2
public domain. % compared to 7.80 % growth rate reported in 20165.
This meant more federal allocations for the states and

recorded an annual growth of 0.47 % in 2017 compared
to 0.22 % in 2016. The primary factor contributing to the Increased reserves led to clamouring by the states for
low performance of the sector was the negative growth more allocation to them through the Federation Account.
trend experienced by the sub-sectors of trade and tele- State governors often do not see the wisdom in saving,
Nigeria in 2017: An Overview communication. This was also despite the impact the translating in bickering between the federal government
relatively higher growth in the agricultural, electricity, and state counterparts who always demand to share of
gas and the service sectors had on the GDP in the monies in reserves.
same period. The agricultural sector in the third quarter
Crude oil and Nigeria’s economic perfor- of 2017 grew by 3 % and currently contributes 29 % to
mance overall GDP. The growth in the agricultural sectors was A trend of budget deficits
primarily driven by crop production, which accounted for Despite the increasing level of Nigeria foreign ex-
The drop in the price of crude oil at the global market 92 % of the overall nominal growth of the sector. This change reserves, Nigerian government continued to
and the economic recession in Nigeria affected the na- reflected on the allocations from the federal accounts have a substantial annual budget deficit. In 2016, the
tion’s oil and gas industry in 2016. With the significant that states like Nasarawa got in 2017. justification for the massive budget deficit was the
drop in global oil price due to the increased produc- fall in revenue due to the drop in oil price. However,
tion of shale oil in the US, revenue that accrued to the Fig 2: Crude oil Price 2017 in 2017, when the gap between revenue and expendi-
government fell short of the amount projected for the the good news reflected in the overall budgets of the 6 External Reserves ture was N2.3 trillion, the price of oil was considerably
same period. Consequentially, the government states reviewed. Nigeria foreign reserve in the last quarter of 2017 also higher. The 2017 deficit was about 30% of the entire
both federal and state resorted to borrowing to fill the
revenue gap. However, by the third quarter of 2017, witnessed significant growth, due to the positive growth budget figure and represented 2% of the nation’s GDP7.
Nigeria oil and gas had gained tractions with growth in global oil price and the relative increase in crude oil The justification for the deficit provision was un-
of up to 26 % (year-on-year); contributing up to 10 % production in Nigeria; the latter because of the rela- clear or not offered by the government. Ex-
tive peace that reigned in the Niger Delta during the perts noted that the entire fiscal plan of N7.44 tril-
same period. Nigeria witnessed a 66 % increase in lion for 2017 was ambitious, as it did not reflect
2 OPEC (2018). Annual Statistical Bulletin. https://asb.opec.org/index.php/data-download its foreign reserves from $23 billion in October 2016 the realities of the Nigerian economic conditions8.
to $38.2 billion in by the third quarter of 2017 with The federal government planned to meet the deficit
3 National Bureau of Statistics (2016). NBS Q4 2016 Full Report. Nigerian Gross Domestic Product Report. www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/ the nation’s reserve figure currently at $40.4 billion;
6 Social Action (2010). Borrow and Spend. http://saction.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/spend_and_borrow.pdf
download/518 7 Social Action (2010). Borrow and Spend. http://saction.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/spend_and_borrow.pdf
4 Business Post (2017, November) Nigeria’s GDP Records 1.4% Growth in Q3 – NBS. https://www.businesspost.ng/2017/11/20/nige- 8 Vanguard (2012, May). Economic experts react as NASS passes N7.441trn 2017 budget. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/05/at-last-
rias-gdp-records-1-4-growth-q3-nbs/
5 Vanguard (2018, Febraury). Nigeria’s economy records 0.83% growth in 2017 – NBS. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/02/nige-
rias-economy-records-0-83-growth-2017-nbs/

5 6

through borrowing which further increased the debt represented 14 % of the total domestic debt as of 2017. both the south-south states and south- cessors despite saying or pledging not to
profile of the government and a drain on future earn- Edo state, Cross River, Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa with east states. States seemed incapable of do so in their budget statements. This lack
ings especially if the debt is not used for productive as- the total external figure of $232 million, $167.9 million, addressing the issue even though their of continuity between governments is a
sets. The possibility that the debt would be well spent $66 million, $58 million and $47.7 million respectively, security allocations in their budget dwarf bane of development and can account for
remains low as the government is yet to present a co- were amongst the most indebted states in the country. all other expenditure lines. Perhaps an up- the ubiquity of abandoned projects in the
herent economic plan for the country. Not unlike their The list of most indebted states is topped by Lagos side to the unsecured time that most Nige- states.
federal counterpart, state governments are increasingly states with a total external debt of $1.4 billion as at De- rians are living under will be that it might · Budget items and lines continue to be
running budget deficits and are financing these deficits cember 2017. Concerning domestic debt, Lagos state yet prompt a public debate on how states vaguely, ill described or ambiguously de-
by borrowing from both internal and external sources. topped the list again with N363.2 billion-debt profile, spend their respective security allocations. fined in state budgets. This is the case
Resultantly, they too are facing rising debt burden that and Delta closely followed it with N228 billion domestic · Budgeting in the states remained poor as even when vast amounts of money have
is a call on their future. This is particularly so when the debts. Akwa Ibom (N187.2 billion), Rivers (N191.1 bil- projects executed years ago continue to been allocated to the execution of these
states are borrowing to finance recurrent expenditures lion), Bayelsa (N129.4 billion) and Cross River (N125 appear in budgets as new projects. Both line items. Poorly defined or identified proj-
as all the states we reviewed did in 2017. billion) were among the most indebted states. state staff and security personnel contin- ects with colossal capital commitments
ued to either directly or indirectly thwart were particularly pervasive in Bayelsa,
Growing public debt Debt servicing burden efforts to monitor the execution of projects Kano, Nasarawa and Akwa Ibom state
even when their laws or federal laws and budgets. This hinders transparency and
Following persistent budget deficits, Nigeria’s debt is The growing public debt profile of both the federal and their public rhetoric or posturing support accountability for three reasons:
now growing faster than the nation’s GDP growth rate. state government portends a rising debt servicing ratio such efforts. The obfuscation often takes
Available data on public debt, which combined both in their annual expenditure portraiture. Between 2013 different forms including non-cooperation, o It makes it difficult, if not impossi-
federal and state governments debt, showed that debt and 2016, Nigeria’s debt servicing profile when com- denial of access to project sites, the refus- ble, for CSOs and the general pub-
grew 30 % compared to the single 2 % rate of GDP. pared with the nation’s revenue rose from 8 % in 2013 al to allow senior staff at project sites to lic to monitor projects;
According to figures from the Debt Management Office to 57 % in 2016 and 66% at the beginning of 2017. It speak to monitoring team by withholding
(DMO), Nigeria’s public debt profile rose to N21.7 trillion declined to 45% as at December 2017 for a reason yet o It makes it impossible to do any
by the end of 2017 from the 2016 figure of N17.3 trillion9. to be discerned. Records from DMO showed a progres- meaningful cost-benefit analysis
As at the end of 2017, external debt stock stood at sive increase in annual debt servicing since 201512.
$11.4 billion while domestic debt stood at N13.8 trillion10. Following persistent budget deficits, Nigeria’s debt is
This is indeed the highest debt profile in Nigeria histo- Cost of servicing domestic debt has remained between now growing faster than the nation’s GDP growth rate.
ry and recalls to mind the bad old days when external N1.01 and N1.4 trillion since 2015. This represented
outflows for debt servicing dwarfed the entire budgets between 20 to 25 % of each year’s annual budget. Ex- authorisation and subtle and not so subtle of government projects and, con-
for education, health, agricultural and other social ex- intimidation of monitoring team members. sequently, the effectiveness of
penditures in the country. Nigeria public debt has in- ternal debt servicing also increased progressively · The pattern of underwhelming spending government financial allocation
creased by almost 10 trillion or 72 % between 2012 and during the same period. In 2017, the federal gov- on the social sector continued in 2017. decisions; and
2017 while the growth in GDP has averaged only 3 %11. ernment spent a total of $464 million on servicing This was the case despite public state- o It means that much-needed proj-
external debt, representing about 31% increase ments to the contrary by the governors. ects are not carried out, to the det-
from the figure it spent in 2016 on the same thing13. Governors used their budget speeches riments of the people whose lives
to extol the need for good developmental the projects may have impacted
As one would expect, the rising debt servicing expen- goals that focused on education, health- positively.
diture has been funded by a corresponding decrease in care and agriculture and named their bud- Phantom, ill-executed projects
budget allocation to capital expenditures. gets to reflect this sentiment. However, and abandoned projects are a real
their budgetary allocations betrayed their drain on the resources of states
Conclusions from Monitoring Budget espoused beliefs. No state examined al- because they do not remove the
Implementation in 2017 located more than 12 percent combined needs that made the projects nec-
on education, agriculture and healthcare. essary in the first instance. Many of
Fig 7: Debt profile of six Niger Delta State as at 2017 · No state was exempted from the insecurity Their actual expenditure on these sectors these projects have direct impacts
The state governments have also contributed signifi- that continued to plague Nigeria. In 2017, the was even more abysmal. Governors still on people’s lives or livelihoods be-
cantly to the increasing public debt profile of the coun- state of insecurity was heightened by the herds- see budgeting as a speech act, not a per- cause they are often projects that
try. State foreign debts represented 36 % of the coun- men-farming community clashes that hitherto formance one. could improve security, advance
try’s total external borrowings while their domestic debt affected only the northern states but that are · Most of the projects randomly selected for education and health and provide
now increasingly moving southward – affecting site visits were abandoned or never got off employment.
the ground. All states suffered from this ill, · States continue to be overly optimistic in
nass-passes-n7-441trn-2017-budget/ but in Nasarawa only one project was com- their budgeting by overestimating reve-
9 DMO (2018, March). http://dmo.gov.ng/debt-profile/total-public-debt/2380-total-public-debt-as-at-31st-december-2017/file pleted amongst the project the monitoring nues, especially from internally generated
10 DMO(2018, March). Nigeria’s Public Debt Stock as at December 2017. http://dmo.gov.ng/debt-profile/total-public-debt/2380-total-pub- team evaluated. Most states where there sources. This is often a subterfuge or ruse
lic-debt-as-at-31st-december-2017/file had been a change of governors summar- to hide the fact of their over-dependence
11 Business Post (2018, June) Nigeria’s Debt Growing Faster than GDP. http://www.thebusinesspost.ng/tms/rise-and-rise-nigerias-debt/ ily abandoned the projects of their prede- on federal allocations and loans.
nigerias-debt-growing-faster-gdp
12 http://dmo.gov.ng/debt-profile/external-debts/debt-service
13 http://dmo.gov.ng/debt-profile/external-debts/debt-service

7 8

Recommendations to states they believe in the spending decisions made State Monitoring
in these critical sectors and 2) they will notice Reports
more quickly when the funding they provided to
· The intentions and actions of the states as en- the sectors are being deviated for other purpos-
visaged in their budgets in 2017 remained very es or misallocated.
far apart or irreconcilable. This needs to change
if they are to develop further and reduce their
dependency on the federal government. This
requires that an implementable action plan Recommendations to Citizens
should accompany budgets, fully costed and
vetted line by line to ensure that projects are not
recidivating or making recurring appearances. Individuals and groups should continue to partici-
pate in movements to strengthen anti-corruption
policies and laws. This includes campaign to turn
· The state has to establish a mechanism through the Proceeds of Crime Bill into law before the next
which annual variances between budgeted and federal election and advocate for states to have sim-
actual figures are analyzed and incorporated ilar laws in their law books. This is to be achieved
into the budgeting process for the next period. by pressuring lawmakers and through grassroots
This variance exercise done regularly during campaigns that raise public awareness on the im-
the year will uncover phantom or abandoned portance of these laws in the fight against corrup-
projects tion. Mobilized CSOs in the region should demand

· To better implement their budgets, states should information and documents on public procurement
establish an office of budgeting that will be re- through vehicles like the Freedom of Information
sponsible for budget making and implementa- (FoI) Act provisions. FOI is an exceptionally es-
tion. This office could also act as the interface sential anti-corruption tool now that a ruling by an
between the state government and the gener- appeal court in April 2018 suggested applies to all
al public on budget matters and should be at states in the country.

arm’s length from the government. The Office
of Budgeting will provide the continuity between • CSOs should get involved in the public procure-
successive governments in each state that the ment process in the states. Current involvement
governments themselves are finding difficult to
provide. in the public procurement process is low. This has
dampened the effectiveness of project monitoring
in the states as well as accounts for the high rate
· States should obey their laws and operate an of project abandonment across the region. States
open budget system. This means making their and Local governments in the region have exploited
fiscal documents readily available and accessi- this lacuna to violate the law and embark on fiscal
ble to the general public and allowing unfettered irresponsibility and mismanagement of public re-
access to project sites to CSOs and the general sources.
public.

· Priority should also be given to uncompleted • Citizens should pressure the Akwa Ibom State gov-
projects before embarking on new ones to cub ernment to pass the Public Procurement Bill, which
waste.
has stalled in the House of Assembly. The other
states have passed theirs. For Rivers State though,
· States should forge a maintenance culture and AcoNet members in Rivers State are contesting a
build this into every project they embark on from
the outset. provision (article 21, subsection 4), which allows the
state governor to award contracts of up to 30% of
the total annual budget without recourse to the Pub-
· There is a need to develop professional civil lic Procurement Bill provisions.
service in the states. This will significantly im-
prove budget-making in the states through time-
ly and expert advice.

· The upper echelon of state officials should use
the educational and healthcare facilities they
provide in their states. This will achieve at least
two goals: 1) they will convey by the actions that

9 10

ABIA STATE BUDGET ANALYSIS

• Capital: Umuahia

• Created: 27th August 1991

• Governor: Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu

• GDP (billion $): 18.7 (2007)

• GDP Per Capita ($): 3,003 (2007)

• Unemployment Rate (%): 11.2 (2011)

• Land area (in sq. km): 4,900.0 (2006)

• Population: 2,845,380 (2006)

• Literacy Rate, Adult: 85.1 (2010)

Background

During the second half of 2016, Abia State was under a condition of uncertainty
over the legal challenge of the election of Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu. A Federal
High Court sitting in Abuja had on June 27, 2016 annulled the election of the gov-
ernor who was accused of not providing credible evidence of payment of tax to the
state government as required by law. Accordingly, the court directed the Indepen-
dent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a certificate of return to John
Ogah, the runner-up during the state party primaries when Okezie Ikpeazu won the
nomination as the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party. However, in another
judgment in August 2016, a higher court set aside the ruling of the lower court and
declared Ikpeazu the rightful governor of the state. The legal tussle went all the way
to the Supreme Court, which on May 12, 2017, affirmed the ruling of the superior
court. So Okezie Ikpeazu retained his governorship of the state. The legal tussle
delayed the presentation and passage of the state budget for 2017.

11 12

According to Governor Ikpeazu, the budget was intend- the state underprepared.
ed to consolidate on the achievement recorded be- The implementation of the budget was not helped by
tween 2015-2016. The state intended to double effort in the protracted court battle that meandered its way from
increasing the portion of Internally Generated Revenue the lower court to the highest court in the country. The
(IGR) in its revenue profile. Central to the government’s fact that a governorship battle between two people from
plan for generating more internal revenues was the rec- the same party could severely curtail the activities of the
tification of accounting loopholes in the agencies tasked state is yet another reason to professionalise the civil
with collecting state taxes and other revenues, and a service in the state. The treasury should be responsible
vigorous campaign to tackle tax avoidance by individu- for preparing the budget of the state and whoever is the
als and business. highest-ranking government office should then present
the budget to the House of Representatives. This would
Performance of the 2016 Budget have prevented most of the challenges faced by the
state in much of 2016 and early 2017.

Graph 1.1: Summary of 2016 Budget Performance (January 2017 Budget Graph 1.3: Source of Funding 2017 Graph 1.4: 2017 Budget Size- Recurrent and Capital Share
- September)
Governor Ikpeazu presented the 2017 “Budget of Pru- The revenue distribution indicated the preponderance Abia State achieved relative parity between recurrent
The above summary showed a capital expendi- dence and Self Reliance” to the state House of Assem- of allocation from the Federation Account as the state and capital expenditures in its 2017 budget. This was
bly, insisting that the budget would only focus on proj- in 2017 expected to receive 60% of its income from the a better distribution than it had managed to achieve in
ture budget performance of 18 % and a recurrent ex- ects it termed ‘chosen pillars of development’. The 2017 central government previous years, particularly in 2015 when the variance
penditure performance of 78 % for 2017 at the end of Budget had an estimated outlay of N102.549 billion, a . This showed a historical and continuing trend of over- between recurrent and capital expenditures was 29 % in
the third quarter of 2016. In the same period, the gov- value N1.10 billion superior to the approved budget of dependence on statutory allocation including VAT and favour of the former. Though the 2017 distribution figure
ernment had recorded a revenue receipt of N40.273 the preceding year, representing a marginal increase of derivation from oil by the state. appeared encouraging, when considered against actual
billion, representing an overall budget performance of one percent. The state budget was projected to follow disbursement it quickly became obvious that capital ex-
about 52 % when contrasted with expected revenue of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework which is a penditure continued to lag behind recurrent ones. The
N76.053 billion by the end of the 3rd quarter. 3-year project planning cycle (2017 to 2019) and was state appeared yet unwilling to support its priorities with
From the available data, the budget did not perform up compliant with the International Public-Sector Account- the fund necessary to achieve them and to make the
ing Standards (IPSAS). hard decisions to reduce recurrent expenditures.
The budget, according to the state government is aimed
to expand the economic activities in the state as well
as to promote the industrialisation policy of the govern-
ment. The budget was premised on promoting trade,
commerce and tourism between Abia State and the rest
of the world. Budgeted projects were intended to boost

Education Sector The amount of N3.99 billion was allocated to the education
sector. The sector got about 9% of the capital expenditure
Graph 3: Source of Funding 2017 Budget and only 4% of the overall budget. The amount was N93.24
million less than the allocation for the sector in 2016.
With this reduced allocation, it is hard to see or imagine
how the state will keep the promise made by the governor
to ensure equitable access to affordable and quality tech-
nical, vocational (E 4 E), adult (mass-literacy) and tertia-
ry education for the citizens of Abia State. The combined
amount allocated to all social sectors in 2017 was 37% of
the budget, which meant that the poor and other margin-
alised people would continue to be neglected by the state.

Graph 1.5: Capital allocation to Education against other cap-
ital outlay in the budget

Graph 1.2: Summary of Abia State Budget of Prudence and Self-Reliance

to expectation. Only 18% of funds realised in the record- trade and commerce, agriculture and agribusiness in
ed period were used for new development in the state. the state and to catalyse the emergence of a vibrant
The performance index showed the import of recurrent small and medium scale-manufacturing hub.
expenditure as it continued to dominate and command
most of the revenue that accrues to the state, leaving

13 14

BUDGET MONITORING REPORT

PROJECT TITLE S E C - AMT MONITORING REPORT IMAGE
TION
HEALTH SECTOR The sum of N4.382 billion was approved for cap
ital expenditure in the health sector for 2017 bud 1 Renovation of 51 Schools (3 per The team visited to randomly selected pri- Fig1.1,
Graph 1.6: Capital allocation to Health Subsector against get. This amount represented 5% of the capital bud- LGA in the State) Education N50.00m mary schools in Abayi, Osisioma, Umuahia fig 1.2
other capital outlay in the budget get and 4% of the total budget. This figure is N0.518bn Isikwato and Ukwa East. On the spot as-
short of the amount budgeted for health care in the pre- sessment showed that renovations were
ceding year, a negative difference of about 11%. This going on in the selected schools. However,
is perhaps not surprising given that the governor said the renovations were done under the auspice
nothing significant about the health sector during his of UBE and ASUBEB. These were projects
budget presentation speech. Health is a subset of the funded by state partners and not soley by the
social sector. The entire social sector which most of the state. Aside from these projects, there was
poor depend on got only N10.648 billion. The rich could no construction or renovation work ongoing
afford private education and when they are sick, they or completed in most the schools visited.
often go abroad or outside the state. They could similar- Only Ibeku High School in the state capital
ly afford imported food and so depend less on the local benefited from state government contract for
agricultural sector comparatively speaking renovation of a residential block for teachers.

2 Construction of 13 Classroom Education In addition to the allocation for the construc- Fig 1.3,
tion of 13 classroom blocks, the state also Fig 1.4
Blocks in 6 Model Schools earmarked N210 million for counterpart fund-
ing for similar projects in the 17 Local Gov-
FOOD SUFFICIENCY SECTOR ernments. It was, therefore, unclear, which of
the allocation in the budget was funding the
Agriculture, livestock and fisheries are the subsets projects found on the ground.
of the food sufficiency Sector. There were no budget- A visit of the team to some primary schools in
ary allocations to livestock and fisheries. Only agricul- Abayi, Osisioma, Obuzor, Ogbor Hill Umua-
ture appeared in the budget, and it received the sum hia showed that renovation was going on in
of N2.237 billion, which was 2% of the entire budget. selected schools. However, as we observed
The agricultural subset received 5% of budgeted capi- above, the renovations were done with the
tal expenditure in 2017. Its allocation also represented funds provided by UBE and ASUBEB.
7% that went to the economic sector in the same year.
The 2017 allocation to agriculture showed a shortfall of 3 Rehabilitation of Abia State Li- Education N10.00m The State government planned to relocate Fig 1.5
about N0.337 billion when compared to the allocation it brary Board the state Library in Umuahia to a permanent
got in 2016. site. Construction work is yet to commence
on the site chosen for the project. Our visit
to the Library Board showed no sign of con-
struction. A staff of the board we interviewed
confirmed this fact.

4 Rehabilitation of Abia State Li- Education T o t a l The titled project outlined also appeared in Fig 1.6
brary/purchase of office furniture sum of the 2016 budget. Staff reported that they had
and fittings, photocopying ma- not received any of the specified items ex-
chines, scanners, power generat- cept for some children books donated by the
ing set, library books and equip- wife of the governor.
Graph 1.7: Capital allocation to Food Sufficiency against oth- ment, printing equipment e library
er capital outlay in the budget

board

Construction of teachers’ tables Education N50.00m Speaking with teachers and head teachers Fig 5b
and chairs - 50 per LGA in Owerri Road Community Primary School
Osisioma, Ibeku High School, Umuahia,
School Road Primary Sch Umuahia, City
Primary School, Abayi Boys Sec Sch Aba-
yi, Umuahia, Urban School Umuahia North,
Ehere Community Secondary Sch Obingwa,
Ogbo Secondary School Ogbor Hill, Aba-
yi Umuocham Community Primary School,
Community Primary School Umuokiri, Obu-
zor Central School, Osisioma, monitors
in Abia State were reliably informed that
there were no chairs and tables either built
or bought contrary to what the budget ear-
marked.

15 16

5 Purchase of teaching/learning Education N5.00m A permanent site for Abia State Polytech- Fig 10 Establishment of public health Health N60.00m The team visited Aba North, Aba South,
care laboratories in 17 local Osisioma and Umuahia. Though the
aid materials (Abia State Poly- nic at Umuarakpa, Ekeakpara in Osisioma 1.7c governments in the state health personnel in positions of authority
technic) would not respond to our questions, our in-
LGA has been earmarked. This has meant
that construction and other project work at
the old site, which still serves as the main terviews with staff who preferred to remain
anonymous disclosed that no such labora-
campus of the school, have been halted. tories were built.
Staff at the bursary office denied that any
teaching or learning aid was purchased for 11 Construction of Hospital Health Health
the school. N50.00m The monitoring team discovered no new Fig
Centres - Osisioma construction or rehabilitation work at Otuo- 1.12a

6 Habitation and equipment of a Health N100m The team visited General Hospital Aba and Fig bi Health Centre, Umuokiri and Umuagba-
General Hospital Okeikpe. Some staff con- 1.8a ra Health Centres. Officials of the Health
general hospitals Ministry did not have knowledge of any
ducted monitors around the hospital where
they noticed some rehabilitation works go- construction or rehabilitation work elese-
ing on at the male and female wards, op- where.
eration unit and the mortuary section. But 12 Establishment of Modern Oil Mill A g r i c u l - N50.00m Information we gathered from some staff
the quality of work was deficient. At the ture at the Ministry of Agriculture Uhuahia indi-
General Hospital Okeikpe, no noticeable
renovation work was observed, and the cated that there was a proposal for the es-
staff monitors spoke to said there was no tablishment of an oil mill at Akoli. However,
renovation work going on anywhere in the there was nothing at the time of our visit to
hospital. Akoli, where the mill is rumored to be sited
to suggest any type of mill construction or
that any would happen anytime soon.
7 Construction of classroom Health The team spoke with officials of the school Fig 13 Renovation and stocking of A g r i c u l - N21.00m The specific poultry houses concerned are Fig
who refused answer questions. Some oth- 1.9b Poultry Houses ture not stipulated in the budget, but informa- 1.15
blocks for the School of Mid-
wifery and Nursing er staff told monitors in confidence that tion we gathered from the staff was that no
no construction was underway. Only land
survey and measurement works had been renovation was made in 2017. All the birds
carried out at the site. in the poultry in the ministry were old stock.

8 Malaria control (net distribution, Health N70.00m The monitoring team visited the Gener- 14 Purchase of Agriculture Equip- A g r i c u l - N20.00m Our discussion with concerned officials at
al Hospital Aba, Cottage Hospital, Aba-
drug and spray) yi, Owaza General Hospital and Okeikpe ment (Chemicals and Fumiga- ture the Ministry of Agriculture, Umuahia, who
General Hospital. The Hospital Manage- pleaded to remain anonymous, confirmed
ment refused to talk officially, but the staff tion) that no such purchases were made
of the institutions denied receipt of any
such materials. 15 Provision of Requisite Meat In- A g r i c u l - N3.00m N100 million was budgeted in 2016 for the Fig
spection Equipment ture construction of a modern abattoir in Ogbor 1.17

9 Drugs and Medical Supplies Agricul- The monitoring team randomly selected Hill, but no such construction was done.
ture and visited the following hospitals: The In 2017, zero allocation was made for the
General Hospital, Aba, Owaza General construction yet provision was made for
Hospital and Okeikpe General Hospital. the purchase of equipment to be used in
The effort to speak with hospital manage- the abattoir.
ment at each the hospitals was unsuccess- No such equipment was purchased as
ful despite repeated attempts. However, there was no functional abattoir for which
we interviewed some staff at the various the proposed equipment could be used.
hospitals who said that no drugs had been
supplied to them. There was a consensus
within the staff spoken to in the selected
hospitals that the last time such drugs were
supplied was in 2014.

17 18

Picture Gallery

Fig. 1.1: dilapidated roof of Ogbor hill prima- Fig 1.2: Teachers’ quarters, Ibeku High Fig 1.3: Construction of classroom blocks, Aba- Fig 1.10: School of Nursing, Abia State Fig 1.11: Renovated Mortuatry of General Fig 1.12: Primary Health Centre Otuobi,
ry school iii, Ogbor hill aba. School, Umuahia by the state government yi Umuocham Boyes High School, Osisioma by Teaching Hospital, Aba Hospital Aba, Abia State Umuokiri, Osisioma Local Government,
ASUBEB

Fig 1.4: Construction of a block of 5 class- Fig 1.5: Abia State Library Board, Umuahia Fig 1.6: Children Section of Abia State Li- Fig 1.13: Empty Ward, Primary Health Cen- Fig 1.14: Ministry of Agricullrure, Umuahia Fig 1.15: Poultry at the Ministry of Agricul-
room Owerri Road Primary School 1 Osisi- brary renovated by the wife of the governor tre Otuobi, Umuokiri, Osisioma ture, Umuahia with over a thousand birds
oma By UBE

Fig 1.7: Ogbor Hill Primary School, Ogbor Fig 1.8 The proposed permanent site for Fig 1.9: Renovation of Female Ward, Gener- Fig 1.16: Abia State Farmers Cooperation Fig. 1.18: Old Abattoir site at Ogbor hill at
the Abia State Polytechnic in Umuarakpa, al Hospital, Aba Demonstration Farm Fig 1.17: Non-functional Fishpond at the Aba North
Ekeakpara in Osisioma ministry of Agriculture

19 20

Conclusion and Recommendation

The 2017 budget was presented much later than By the third quarter, the state had only realised
usual in the state owing to the legal tussle about 52% of its revenue estimate. This could mean
who the rightful governor was. The delay pos- that the state was overtly too optimist in its esti-
sibly affected the implementation of the budget. mations or has failed to perform at the level re-
However, given that the implementation followed quired to achieve its estimates. The state, just
similar trends that we have witnessed in the state like in previous years, continued to rely on fed-
for many years, it is difficult to say how accurate eral allocations to funds its activities. Abia State
such a position is. The state, even though it had performed poorly in internally generated income,
split its budget equally between recurrent and despite expressed intent by the state, as con-
capital votes, continued to overspend on recur- tained in the budget presentation of the gover-
rent expenditure and underspend on capital as- nor. The industrialisation goal proposed will re-
sets. Thus calling into question the commitment main a dream if the state cannot find a way to be
of the state to refocus and prioritise industrialisa- self-sustaining.
tion in line with the claims of the governor. With The fact that the legal challenge of the candidacy
more recurrent expenditures, there was minimal of the state governor was about his tax return
investments in productive assets and infrastruc- perhaps is indicative of the need to correct the
ture. prevailing the tax avoidance culture and poor ac-
Projects appeared in the budget that our site vis- countability of revenue-generating agencies in
its showed to be abandoned, shoddily executed, the state.
or executed with funds from the state’s external There is a need to develop professional civil ser-
partners. The latter is particularly troubling be- vice in the state. This will improve budget-mak-
cause it is a form of double counting and taking ing in through timely and expert advice. More-
credit when it is not due. The state budgeted for over, when there is a power vacuum, as there
equipment purchases for a nonexistent abattoir. was during the protracted court case involving
This, at the very least, suggests that the state the governor, the civil service could ensure that
budget office needs to keep better count of ame- the state continues to run efficiently and effec-
nities available in the state. In the entire budget, tively. There is an absolute and urgent need to
there was no allocation for completed projects, increase the allocation to social sectors and ag-
suggesting a lack of maintenance culture. The riculture to improve the fortunes of the poor and
government of Abia State should give priority to others who are presently in the margins of the
uncompleted projects that have already started. Abia society.
It should forge a maintenance culture and build
this into every project.

21 22

AKWA IBOM STATE
BUDGET ANALYSIS

••• GCCraoepvaiettreandl:o: r : 2MU3yrr.odUSdeopmtemGbaebrri1e9l 8E7mmanuel
••• UGGDnDePPmP(pbelirollyCiomanpei$nt)ta:R ($a)t:e ( %): 1121,87..2479((22(002001710))7)
•• LPoanpdulaartieoan(:s q. k m): 63,,990002,.005(120(0260)06)

• Literacy Rate (Adult:) 89.5 (2010)

Background

After initially budgeting N371 billion for 2017, the Akwa Ibom State government submitted a sup-
plementary budget of N250 billion barely three months to the end of the year. This sparked off
advocacy against the move by civil society who shed a spotlight on spurious projects like the con-
struction of a state lodge in Lagos at the cost of N2 billion. As the state receiving the highest share
of federal allocations in 2017, based on the payment of 13% of petroleum revenues to states of
derivation, Akwa Ibom has acquired a tradition of embarking on expensive prestige projects with no
apparent benefit for its poor inhabitants. According to NEITI, Akwa Ibom received the sum of N143.6
billion in 2017 from the Federation Account, reflective of improved global crude oil prices. However,
as the statutory receipts could not finance the entire budget, the government of Akwa Ibom contin-
ued to take opaque loans during the year.
As in other states, the political processes seemed to be skewed in favour of entrenched political in-
terests, as reflected in the outcome of local government elections conducted during the year, 2017.
The party of the state governor, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won all the offices contested.
The consensus in the state was that the governor used the election to consolidate its power in the
state. These series of activities shifted focus from matters concerning the need for open and inclu-
sive governance in the state for which civil society organisations have been clamouring.

23 24
budget.

Performance of the 2016 Budget The aims of the budget in 2017, according to the gov- Graph 2. 3: 2017 Source of Funds
ernor, were to expand economic activities in the state
Graph 2.1: 2016 Budget Recurrenet /Capital Expenditure and to promote the industrialisation policy of the gov- Health Sector
Performance (January - September) ernment. Trade, commerce and tourism were themes
that featured prominently in the budget presentation
The above summary showed a recurrent expenditure and subsequent publicity undertaken by the state to
budget performance of N74.55 billion or 79 % as at promote the budget.
September 2016. 14 The government expected to source N31 billion inter-
nally, representing 8% of the total budget. N120 billion
was expected as derivation revenue, N15.0bn from its
share of FAAC and N14.5bn from Excess Paris Loan
refunds. Others sources were N50.0bn from reimburse-
ment on federal roads, N2.0bn Ecological Fund, N3bn
from Capital Receipt, N10.0bn from its share of VAT and
an opening balance of N6.2bn. Total receipt amount to
N251.8bn leaving a shortfall of N119.5 representing
32% which the state intended to source through domes-
tic loans.

2017 Budget The recurrent and capital share with a marginal vari- Graph 2. 4: 2017 Budget Size- Recurrent and Capital Share Graph 2. 6: Capital allocation to Health Sub-sector against
ance of 8% was an impressive ratio in favour of de- other capital outlay in the budget
Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Dr. Udom Emmanuel, velopment given the distributive pattern represented allocation is only half the story. It is actual disbursement
signed the 2017 Appropriation Bill of N371 billion into in previous budgets. However, the optimism conveyed that translates intent to achievement. Hence, we could The sum of N5.58 billion was approved for the health
law on Tuesday 28th of March 2017 at Executive Coun- only be cautiously optimistic by the distributive pattern subsector 2017. This was 1.6 % of the entire budget.
cil Chamber, Govern by increased capital allocation had to be checked of the 2017 budget. The health figure contributed 26.5 % to the social sec-
against actual disbursement. As we saw with the tor and amounted to 3 % of the capital estimate for the
deduced 2016 capital performance of 12%, budget year. The allocation for 2017 was N1.82 billion less than
2016.

Education Sector Food Sufficiency Sector

Graph 2. 2 Summary of Akwa Ibom State Budget Of Consolidation Graph 2. 5: Capital allocation to Education against other Graph 2. 7: Capital allocation to Food Sufficiency against
capital outlay in the budget other capital outlay in the budget
ment House, Uyo. The governor had initially proposed
N365.25 billion in the budget presented to the Akwa The proposed budget for education was N8.62 The agricultural subsector received the sum of N7.43
Ibom State House of Assembly. However, the lesgisla- billion or 2% of the total budget. The sum represented
tors increased the amount by about N5.7 billion. The billion or 2.4 % of the entire 2017 budget. This amount the total amount allocated to the food sufficiency sector.
2017 budget was N52 billion or 12% less than the 2016 represented 39% of the allocation to the social sector. The amount for agriculture was 3.8 % of the amount
Education also got 4.4 % of the capital budget. The allo- allocated to capital expenditure. The N7.43 billion al-
14 Since the government did not publish or provide any information on capital budget performance for 2016, we cation to education in 2017 was N1.25 billion less than located to agriculture was N3.3 billion higher than the
subtracted the actual recurrent expenditure as at September from actual revenue for the same period (N104.8 billion) to the subsector got in 2016. This was principally due to amount allocated to the subsection in the 2016 budget.
deduce the value of N30.25 billion for the capital budget performance of 12% the reduction in the 2017 budget relative to the 2016
budget.

25 26
BUDGET MONITORING REPORT

PROJECT TITLE SEC- MONITORING REPORT IMAGE 5 School Of Health Technology, Et- Health N62m These projects were not executed. Figure 7
TION inan A senior staff of the school, who took
(Perimeter fencing-N10m, Ero- us around, informed us that the school
1 Establishment/completion The model schools mentioned in the Figure1, sion control-N15m has been in contact with the govern-
of model science secondary Education N300m budget were the initiatives of previous Figure2
schools/model technical colleges. administrations. ment to address the pressing needs of
the school.
Completion of projects at 4 ex- There was a painting job going on at
isting model secondary schools the model school at Ekparakwa when 6 Provision of Medical Equipment Health N295m The five health facilities listed were: Figure 9
(model secondary school Okop we visited. and their Maintenance in 2017 General Hospital Ikot Ekepene; Gen-
and eral Hospital Ikono; Cottage Hospital
Ndua Erong, Ibesikpo Asutan; At Ishiet Ekim, there was no sign of N1.56b Ikot Ekpaw, Mkpat Enin; Cottage Hos-
Model Secondary School Ishiet any renovation work there. in 2016 pital Ikot Abia, Mkpat Enin; and Cot-
Ekim, Uruan; Model Secondary The completion of projects at 4 existing tage Hospital Ibesit, Oruk Anam.
School Aka Offot; Model Sec- Model Secondary Schools, which was No new equipment was delivered to
ondary School Ekparakwa, Oruk allocated N60 million in the 2017 bud- the hospitals.
Anam): N60million) get, was not achieved. The schools
were not completed and there was no 7 Free Health Care For Under 5 Health N480m Our visit showed that pregnant women Figure 10
indication that the government intend- Children, Pregnant Women and in 2017, were required to register at any gov-
ed to complete them when we visited The Aged N400m ernment hospital with about N2,500
the schools. (free ante-natal care to pregnant in 2016, and pay a monthly fee of N500.
women in the state- N100, free N290m From our interview of mothers at some
2 College of Arts And Science, Education N103m Most of the listed projects were not Figure3, treatment given to children under in 2015 of the hospitals we visited, we learned
Nung Ukim Ikono carried out. The road construction car- 5 years in Akwa Ibom- N320m that laboratory tests for children was
Perimeter fencing (phase 1)- ried out in the school was only about free.
N10m, construction of 1 admin- 400 metre. No drainage system was The matron of the hospital at Ituk
istration block (a storey high), built for it. Mbang informed us that both anti-ma-
construction of internal road net- laria drugs and antibiotics were free
work and drainage system for at the hospital when available. Other-
N20m, and the purchase of library wise, parents have to purchase them.
books- N3m)
8 Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Health N1.15b A visit to the NHIS office in Uyo re-
3 State Polytechnic, Ikot Osura Education N226m Monitoring visits revealed that the in 2017, vealed that the governor was yet to
(Procurement of equipment and school took delivery of equipment for N150m give his assent for the release of any
machines for mechanical engi- the Mechanical Engineering, Electrical in 2016 part of this money.
neering, electrical electronics and Electronics and Science and Tech-
science and technology work- nology Workshops. As the labs were 9 Small Ruminant Development Agriculture N10m There was no such construction in this
Project in 2017, fiscal year. The project got the same
shops- N150m, Accreditation pro- locked, we were unable to take pic- (Construction of 2 No. Standard N10m in allocation in 2016.
gramme- N50m, Procurement of tures of the equipment.
Dept. of Mass Communication The school’s Department of Mass Goat Houses and Establishment 2016
of 2 ha Goat Browsing Paddocks Members of the beneficiary communi-
equipment for television and radio Communication also received equip- at Adadia, Uruan – N5.95m, Pro- ty that spoke budget monitors did not
studio- N26m ment for television and radio station in
the year under review. curement of 200 WAD Goats know anything about this project.
for Farms at Adadia, Uruan and
So it is reasonable to say that this proj- Distribution to Participants of
ect was mostly carried out.
Small Holders Goat Development
Scheme – N2.7m, Provision for
4 Akwa Ibom College of Education Education N307m There was an on-going construction Figure Supplemental Feeds, Drugs/Vac-
Afaha Nsit in 2017, of drainage and road network in the 10, Fig-
N300m school. Apart from this, nothing else ure 11 cines– N1.35m)

in 2016, of importance was happening at the 10 Fodder Bank/Grazing Reserve Agriculture N20m The gate to the grazing reserve was
Development (Demarcation of in 2017, locked. Security guards reported that
N394m school when we visited. 74ha Grazing Reserve Into Pad- N20m in no demarcation was executed in 2017.
in 2015
docks at Adadia, Uruan L.G.A – 2016 This item got N9.6m allocation in the
Akwa Ibom State University Education N4b in Our visit to the school revealed that N4.5m: Development of Grazing 2016 budget.
(Construction of Internal Roads 2017, the project was ongoing.
Network/Drainage at Obio Akpa N250 m Two blocks of buildings have been Reserve to Produce Pastures
Campus – N400m; Construction in 2016 completed – one for offices and the for Livestock at Adadia, Uruan –
of 1 No. Block of Offices and other for classrooms. N5.1m:)
Classrooms, Computer Work- This same project got N250m alloca-
shop and Auditorium for Faculty tion in the 2016 budget.
of Management Science at Obio
Akpa Campus – N500m:)

27 28

11 Clinics, Ambulatory and Epidemi- Agriculture N100m The vet clinic at Ikot Akpan Nkuk is still Figure Photo Gallery
ology Service in 2017, actively situated in a rented apartment 13, Fig-
(Construction of Vet Clinic at Ikot N100m and under lock and keys. There was a ure 14
Akpan Nkuk, Ukanafun L.G.A – in 2016 room left open in the office for anyone
N15m:) who wanted to leave a note for the vet-
erinary doctor.
The landlord showed the team a notice
posted on the wall that had the phone
number of the vet doctor in charge, in
case anyone wanted to reach him.

12 Piggery Development Project (Ex- Agriculture N10m in Visits to the site revealed that there Figure 15
pansion of Pig Pens at Ikot Ibri- 2017 was no expansion carried out on the
tam, Oruk Anam L.G.A – N1.9m: pigpen.
Procurement of Breeding Stocks, According to the staff that spoke to
Provision for Breeder Feeds, budget monitors, the pig farm at Ikot Figure 1. Figure 1 the entrance to the model Figure 2. Figure 3 road built during con- Figure 3. Figure 5 a student in the newly
school Ishiet Ekim struction of major road equipped radio studio Polytechnic, Ikot
Equipment and Cultivation of Le- Ibritam did not benefit from any of the Osura
guminous Seedlings at Ikot Imoh, listed projects. Aside a single pig, the
Ekpene Ukpa and Ikot Ibritam – pig farm was empty.
N3.7m)

13 Construction/Rehabilitation/Ren- Health N1.01b Nothing new ws been done in 2017 Figure 17
ovation Of Health Institutions In in the towards the completion of Ukanafun
Akwa Ibom 2017 cottage hospital.
(Completion of Cottage Hospi- budget Construction at General Hospital, Ikot
tal, Ukanafun – N300m; Con- Ekpene was non-existent as at the
struction of 1 No. 2 Floors of time the monitoring team visited the
Twin Three Bedroom Flats at hospital complex. There was mass
General Hospital, Ikot Ekpene demolition going on in the hospital
– N75m; Construction of Ac- premises at Ituk Mbang.
cident and Emergency Unit at
General Hospital, Ituk Mbang – Figure 7. An erosion control work and reme- Figure 10 Empty male ward at cottage hos- Figure 11 On-going drainage construction at
N40m:) dial work carried out by the authorities of the pital Ikot Ekpaw College of Education, Afaha Nsit
School of Health Technology, Etinan
14 Fencing Of Hospitals And Train- Health N45m As at the time of our visit to the site, Figure 20
ing Schools (Provision of Pe- in 2017, work was on-going as regards the
rimeter Fence at School of Mid- N45m in provision of a perimeter fence at the
wifery, Ituk Mbang, Uruan L.G.A 2016 school.
– N10m; )

15 Provision Of Medical Emergency Health N816m The medical personnel at the hospitals Figure 21
Response Services in 2017, we interviewed denied any knowledge
(Purchase of 23 Ambulances for N225m of new ambulances purchased for their
Medical Emergency Response in 2016 hospitals. Our walk through the hospi-
Services – N805m:) tals did not uncover new ambulances.

Figure 13 The rented apartment used as the Figure 14 The ‘Read Me’ sign on the wall of Figure 15. The two existing pig pens at the
Government Vet Clinic at Ikot Akpan Nkuk the office pig farm, Ikot Ibritam, Oruk Anam

Figure 17 Some of the buildings at the cot- Figure 20 On-going fencing at the School of Figure 21 Newly completed office and
tage hospital, Ukanafun Midwifery, Ituk Mbang, Uruan
classroom blocks at Akwa Ibom State Uni-
versity, Obio Akpa campus

29 30

Conclusion and Recommendation

2017 was the year that the present gov- 2016. No one whom the team talked to in the
ernment solidified its reign in the state. It community knew anything about this project.
organised local government elections where The project that called for the demarcation
his party won all the electable positions. Fol- of 74ha grazing reserve into paddocks at
lowing the elections, governor tabled a sup- Adadia, Uruan for N4.5 million was not exe-
plementary budget barely three months to cuted. The project that was expected to pro-
the end of the year, which civil society groups duce pastures for Livestock at Adadia, Uru-
opposed. an budgeted for N5.1 million likewise did not
The 2017 budget achieved a relative parity happen. The gate to the grazing reserve was
in its allocation of resources to recurrent and locked at the end of 2017. It is remarkable
capital expenditures. However, actual budget that at the time when herders and farmers
implementation was skewed in favour of re- are clashing, resulting in an untold number of
current spending. Also, the pattern of under- deaths, over access to grazing land, the state
whelming spending on the social sector con- government could afford to be so nonchalant
tinued in 2017. Education and health got 2.4 about programs that could reduce the clash-
% and 1.6 %, respectively, in the budget. The es by providing alternative ways of herding
poor allocation to these crucial social sec- and breeding animals in the state. The gov-
tors may not be a surprise considering that ernment has to take food sufficiency in the
top politicians and policymakers in the state state more seriously and reduce the number
often travel abroad for medical treatment of unexecuted projects in the sector.
and send their children to expensive private The government has to improve its project
schools within Nigeria and abroad. In Akwa oversights. Projects are allocated vast sums
Ibom State, however, despite the small allo- of money yearly but are still not functional
cations to the education and health sectors, enough to serve the needs of the people.
our monitors discovered that projects in the The upper echelon of state officials should
budget are mostly not executed. use the educational and healthcare facilities
Like projects in the educational and health they provide in the state. This will achieve at
sectors, projects approved for the agricultural least two goals: 1) they will convey by their
sector were at most partially executed. Most actions that they believe in the spending de-
were not even carried out. For example, the cisions made in these critical sectors and 2)
small ruminant development project that got they will notice more quickly when the fund-
N10 million in 2017, which called for the con- ing they provided to the sectors are being de-
struction of goat houses was not executed. viated for other purposes or misallocated.
When we visited the site, there was no goat
house. The same project got N10 million in

31 32

 Capital: Yenagoa

 Created: 1ST October 1996

 Governor: Seriake Henry Dickson

 GDP (PPP), billion $: 4.3 (2007)

 GDP Per Capita, $: 2,484 (2007)

 Unemployment Rate, Percent: 23.9 (2011)

 Land area, sq. km: 9,059.0 (2006)

 Population, persons: 1,704,515 (2006)

 Literacy Rate, Adult: 74.9 (2010)

BAYELSA STATE Graph 3.1: Summary of 2016 Budget (January - December)
BUDGET ANALYSIS
The 2017 budget was N243.244 billion compared to the 2016 figure of N150.6 billion, showing an increase of
Background N92.644 billion. While Analyst and public commentators alike generally commended the sincerity of the 2016
budget, they wondered, however, how the state intended to realise the enormous amount needed to finance the
Bayelsa State passed its Income and Expenditure Transparency Law, 2012 to ensure full and de- 2017 budget. Of the N243.244 billion, recurrent expenditures were estimated at N155.129 billion or 64 % of the
tailed disclosure of all income and expenditure in the state. However, it continued to operate an budget. The balance went to capital expenditures (N88.115 billion or 36 % of the budget).
opaque budget system that made it impossible to achieve any transparency or accountability. Over
the years, the Bayelsa State Budget has been characterized by opacity, vagueness and deliberate Performance of the 2016 Budget
ambiguity. These had contrived to make it impossible for citizens or citizens groups to monitor the
allocation of state resources to various needs accurately. In many cases, rather than disaggregate
projects according to cost, location and target, the budget only made general statements of purpose
and allocated lump sum money to them. This presented a not insignificant challenge to accountabil-
ity and transparency in the state.
During the presentation of the 2017 budget of Bayelsa State, the governor, Seriaki Dickson, referred
to the budget as the “budget of repositioning for consolidation.” By this, the governor indicated his
government willingness to complete all previous projects in the state before embarking on new
ones; pledging continuity between his government and the previous one.

Graph 3..2: 2016 Budget Recurrenet /Capital Expenditure Performance

33 34

The 2016 budget had a total budget size of N150.6 bil- The revenue distribution continued to show the histor- HEALTH SECTOR Food Sufficiency Sector
lion which was expected to be financed by statutory al- ical overreliance on the Federal Account by the state.
location (N82.3 billion or 55 %), VAT (6 billion or 4 %), The government once again is relying heavily on stat-
IGR (N 11 billion or 8 %) and loans and other capital utory allocation including VAT and derivation from oil
receipts (N51.2 billion or 35 %). to finance expenditure for the fiscal year. As the above
The summary showed a capital expenditure budget diagram showed, statutory allocations were at an aston-
performance of 97% and a recurrent expenditure per- ishing 82 % of the entire revenue portrait.
formance of 117% for the year ended 2016. This meant
that 17% more than was budgeted was spent on recur- Graph 3.7: Capital allocation to Food Sufficiency against
rent expenditure. It equally showed that the state spent other capital outlay in the budget
4% less on capital expenditure than was planned. Both
of these outcomes further skewed the allocation of state
resources to the disfavor of capital expenditure.

Graph 3.6: Capital allocation to Health Sub-sector against
other capital outlay in the budget

2017 Budget Graph 3.4: 2017 Budget Size- Recurrent and Capital Share The approved capital expenditure allocation for health The food sufficiency sector comprised of the agricul-
in the 2017 budget was N5.92 billion. This represented ture, livestock and fisheries subsectors. The budget
Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, presented The ratio is biased towards recurrent expenditure, con- 7% of the capital expenditure of N88.11 billion, 20 % of called for N4.024 billion to be spent on agriculture,
the 2017 fiscal year budget estimate named “Budget of tinuing the trend that despite publically stated intents allocation to the Social Sector of N28.97 billion and 2 % which represented 2 % of the entire budget. Agriculture
Repositioning for Consolidation” of N221 billion to the and overwrought rhetoric of building the infrastructural of the total budget of N243.24 billion. got 5 % of capital projects and made up about 7% of the
State House of Assembly for consideration and pas- stock of the state, the state seemed incapable or unwill- economic sector.
sage. ing to escape the recurrent expenditure trap.
The House, however, passed the sum of N243 billion,
an increase of N22 billion or 10%.

Education Sector

The government of Bayelsa state should obey its
own laws and operate an open budget system.

Graph 3.3: Source of funding the 2017 Budget

A breakdown of the 2017 Appropriation Bill showed that Graph 3.5: Capital allocation to Education against other
N191 billion was projected as revenue from statutory capital outlay in the budget
allocation, N6.9 billion from VAT and N15.1 billion from
independent revenue sources. The budget indicated With a proposal of N13.5 billion, education occupied
that N8 billion was expected from grants and N21.9 bil- about 47 % of the social sector, 15 % of the capital ex-
lion from domestic loans. Personnel costs would gulp penditure and 6 % of the overall budget, respectively.
N52.3 billion, overhead costs N41.3 billion, while con-
solidated revenue fund charges would amount to N61.4

billion. Capital expenditure was allocated N88.1 billion.

35 36

PROJECT MONITORING REPORT
TITLE
SEC- MONITORING REPORT IMAGE
1 Chief Melford Ok- TION
ilo 500 Bedroom
Hospital, Imgbi Health About The monitoring visits were carried Fig 1,
Road, Amara- N15bn out in November 2017. Because fig 3
ta-Yenagoa has the facility was handed over to a
been private organisation, access to the Fig 1: Chief Melford Okilo 500 bed Hospital Fig 3: Completed diagnostic centre Fig 4 Abandoned Hospital at Emakalakala
2 General Hospi- budget- facility was restricted, and workers .
tal, Emakalakala, ed over refused to disclose information to
Ogbia LGA the last the monitor without prior written
years permission from the state ministry
3 Construction of
Referral General of health.
Hospital, Sagba-
ma Education N150m The monitoring team visited the Fig 4,
site with community members who fig6
4 Construction of opined that the facility has been
Referral General abandoned for several years and fig 6: Abandoned equipment Fig 7a. Referral Hospital Sagbama Fig 7b. Referral Hospital Sagbama
Hospital, Kaiama, left to rot. As at the time of the visit,
Kolokuma Opoku- the place has been cleared and the
ma LGA pictures included below show the
extant state of the project.
5 Construction of
Referral General Health Not The monitoring team visited the site Fig 7a,
Hospital, Ogbia Available and took on the spot assessment of fig 7b
Town, Ogbia LGA
the project. We interviewed com-
6 Ijaw National munity folks who informed us of
Academy, Kaiama, their hope and prayer that the facil-
KOLGA ity would be completed on time and
put to good use, as it will benefit all
the communities in that Sagbama
axis.

Health Not Like the facility in Sagbama, the Fig 8a,
Available one in Kaiama was nearing com- fig 8b
Fig 8a. Referral General Hospital, Kaiama, Fig 8b. Referral General Hospital, Kaiama, Fig 9a. Referral General Hospital Ogbia
pletion as at November 2017. The KOLGA KOLGA
Referral General Hospitals in Kaia-
ma was part of a broader health
care delivery plan by the current
government.

Health Not The facility at Ogbia Town is still Fig 9a,
Available less than 30% completed by the fig 9b

estimation of the monitoring team.
The project has been undergoing
rather slow construction for at least
five years.

Education Not When the team visited, the Acade- Fig Fig 9b. Referral General Hospital Ogbia Fig 10a. Ijaw National Academy, Kaiama, Fig 10b. Ijaw National Academy, Kaiama,
Available my was completed and in use. 10a, fig Town still under construction for years after KOLGA KOLGA
The project was initiated by the 10b
present government as part of the award
government’s policy to provide
quality education in the state.

37 38

Conclusion and Recommendation

The descriptions of the budget items were of- ing new projects.
ten so opaque that the projects they allud- While Bayelsa State has passed a law to en-
ed to could be anything and everything, which sure that there is full and detailed disclosure of
made it difficult for ordinary people to properly all income and expenditure in the state, yet it
engage with the budget or monitor the projects continued to operate an opaque budgetary sys-
it contained. The ambiguity inhered in Bayelsa’s tem that made it impossible to achieve this goal.
2017 budget increased the potential for misallo- Vagueness of budgetary allocations has made it
cation or misspending of resources either inten- difficult for citizens to monitor the level of imple-
tionally or unintentionally. It created misgivings mentation of the budget accurately. In many cas-
within the civil society in the state who voiced es, rather than disaggregate projects according
their mistrust of the state government ability or to cost, location and target, the budget made
willingness to adhere to the tenet of open soci- general statements of purpose as demonstrat-
ety and accountability. ed above. This is not only a disservice to the
Capital expenditures were allocated to pro- right of citizens to monitor how the government
grams that were unclear. For example, allo- spends public resources, but it is also a major
cation was made to something called reform driver of corruption. And importantly, it showed
of government and governance with a vote of that the government is willing to disobey its own
N8.927 billion. Another opaque expenditure laws so blatantly. This is concerning because
saw the state budgeting N14.304 billion on “en- if the government could so openly conducting
hancing skills and knowledge”. In none of these and condoning illegality, could it rightly and log-
examples did the budget inform what constitut- ically expect any different from its citizens and
ed reforming government and governance or other entities within its domain?
whose skill and knowledge would be enhanced. The government of Bayelsa state should obey
Further, the governor in presented the budget its own laws and operate an open budget sys-
to the state House of Representatives averred tem. It should make its fiscal documents readily
that the state would focus on completing all pre- available and accessible to the general public at
viously started projects. Yet new projects were no cost to them. Priority should also be given to
allocated vast sums of money, which meant that uncompleted projects before embarking on new
some projects started before 2017 were still un- ones to cub waste. Perhaps, decisions on what
completed by the end of 2017 fiscal year. projects to the site or complete should become
Projects that were awarded by previous admin- the sole responsibility of the state civil service
istrations were abandoned. The practice con- because governments and governors depend
tinued to show the lack of continuity from one on electoral timescale, which currently cannot
regime to another in the state. Untold billions exceed 8 years or two terms. This will require a
of naira are wasted; money that the state could well-educated and well-remunerated and inde-
not afford to waste. Successive governments in pendent civil service.
the state appeared only to be interested in start-

39 40

 Capital: Asaba

 Created: 1st October 1989

 Governor: Arthur Okowa Ifeanyi

 GDP Per Capita ($): 3,990 (2007)

 Unemployment Rate (%): 27.2 (2011)

 Land area (sq. km): 17,108.0 (2006)

 Population: 4,112,445 (2006)

 Literacy Rate (Adult): 79.3 (2010)

DELTA STATE Graph 4.1: Summary of Delta State Budget of Prudence and Self-Relianc
BUDGET ANALYSIS
Summary of Kano State Budget of Prudence and Self-Reliance
Background
Delta State government maintained the SMART agenda, designed to run from 2016-2019 as stated in the Delta
Delta State is home to over 50 oilfields and accounts for over 27 % of petroleum pro- State Medium Term Development Plan (DSMTDP). The acronym SMART stands for:
duction in Nigeria. With a total landmass of 16,842 square kilometres and an esti-
mated population of about 4.8 million people, the state has the potential for agriculture,  Strategic wealth creation projects and provision of jobs for all Deltans
tourism and commerce. Delta State, however, ranks as the second most indebted state  Meaningful, peacebuilding platforms aimed at political and social harmony
in Nigeria, second only to Lagos State. With an external debt burden of N331.95 billion,  Agricultural reforms and accelerated industrialisation
governor Ifeanyi Okowa was saddled with the responsibility of managing this debt with  Relevant Health and education policies
reduced income from the federal allocation due to the fall in oil prices. While also trying  Transformed environment through urban renewal
to deliver on campaign promises, there was concern that the debt profile would rise as This Plan released as part of the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) and Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF)
the state increased its borrowing to make up the shortfall from the national purse. 2016 – 2019 was intended to serve as a valuable tool for the dissemination and understanding of the development
. policies, strategies and programs in the state. It was expected to guide the allocation of resources for programmes
in Delta State.

41 42

Performance of the 2016 Budget vour of the recurrent ledger than in the budgets. For in- capital expenditure was 6%. None of these figures or
stance, in 2015 and 2014 budgets, only 35 % and 24.47 statistics particularly supports the claim of the state to
Summary of 2016 Budget (January - Decem- % of budgeted capital expenditures were achieved. prioritise the health of its citizens. It is still more talk and
ber) These could be contrasted with the 97 % and 101 % of less action in the state when it comes to health care.
budgeted recurrent expenditures that the state record- It strains belief on the state’s resolve to achieve its
ing in 2015 and 2014, respectively. SMART agenda on health with this expenditure pattern.
It is especially important to note this because actual ex-
Education Sector penditure on health pales in comparison to the amount
budgeted so frequently that one wonders what the pur-
Graph 4.3: Source of Funding 2017 Budget pose of budgeting is in the state. For example, out of
the N12.32 billion allocated to the social sector in 2016,
The revenue distribution trend followed a familiar pat- only N2.096 billion was expended. This is an abysmal
tern. It depended heavily on federal allocations. The 17 % performance. Budgets are supposed to be tem-
state estimated that the federal allocations would pro- plates or guidelines on the expenditure actions of a re-
vide about 55 % of its budgeted income for the year. gime or an entity in any given period, but in Delta state,
Although this figure is slightly lower than that of 2016, it they seem to be viewed by those in authority as mere
suggests that the state has still not diversified its econo- or less than suggestions. Variances between budgeted
my enough from the dependence of oil revenue despite and actual figures seemed not to be analyzed in any
expressed intentions over the preceding years. In his meaningful way by the state, as it is difficult to discern
budget speech, the governor blamed pipe-line vandals any corrective actions taken by the state to prevent their
for the dwindling fortune of the state as the state has recurrence in the past several years.
fallen from the status of the second highest oil produc-
Graph 4.2: 2016 Budget Performance ing state to the fourth. This shift in production position, Graph 4.5: Capital allocation to Education against other Food Sufficiency Sector
according to the Nigerian revenue sharing formula, has capital outlay in the budget
The sum of N265,668,156,174 was passed into law by a corresponding effort of the money that accrues to the
the State Assembly in 2016. At the end of the third quar- state coffers. Education was grouped under the social sector in the
ter, the government had recorded a revenue receipt of budget. With a proposal of N14.78 billion, it command-
N118,154,509,648, which represented an overall bud- 2017 Budget Size- Recurrent and Capital ed about 61 % of the total budget for that sector, which
get performance of about 66 % over the revised expect- Share meant that health, information and culture and social
ed revised third-quarter revenue of N178,786,104,115. development, the other subsectors of the sector, com-
The sum of N15.811 billion of the realised amount came bined received 39 % of the allocation to the social sec-
as the unspent balance from 2015. tor. In the capital expenditure framework, education
The expenditure profile for 2016 showed a total outflow took 12 %. The amount of N14.78 billion allocated to
of N118 billion. This sum consisted of the following: education was only 5 % of the overall budget. This was
N99.93 billion recurrent expenditure and N18.07 billion N3.48 billion more than the N11.30 billion allocated to
capital expenditure. It showed that the budget weighed the subsector in 2016.
heavily toward recurrent spending, which left very little
for capital assets.

HEALTH SECTOR Graph 4.7: Capital allocation to Food Sufficiency Sub-Sec-
tor against other capital outlay in the budget

2017 Budget Graph 4.4: 2017 Recurrent and Capital Share Graph 4.6: Capital allocation to Health Sub-Sector against The Production, Processing and Support (PPS) pro-
other capital outlay in the budget gram was designed to support agricultural entrepre-
The budget presented by the governor, Ifeanyi The above diagram showed the recurrent and capital neurs in the state. It aimed to increase agrarian prod-
shares of the budget, which significantly tilts towards Delta state government has maintained her resolve to uct food chain and generate employment for the youth
Okowa, for the 2017 fiscal year was N270.910 billion, the former. Notwithstanding, the pattern depicted here improve the health condition of its citizens by invest- bulge in the state.
which saw a slight increase of 2 % over the amount is a better distribution than the ones obtained in previ- ing in primary health care. However, the subsector only The capital budget allocation to support this and oth-
of N265.668 billion budgeted for 2016. Presenting the ous years particularly in 2015 when the allocation to re- received N7.09 billion or 3% of the 2017 budget. This er schemes to the sub-sector was N675,517,284. This
budget appropriation bill to the state house of assem- current expenditure was 29 % higher than the allocation amount was 22 % better than the amount allocated to amount forms about 2% of the economic sector, 0.6%
bly, the Governor stated that the budget was consistent to capital expenditure. Though this figure may appear health in the 2016 budget. Health also consumed 29% of the capital expenditure and 0.3% of the total bud-
with its SMART agenda outlined above. The House re- encouraging, when considered against the backdrop of of the allocation to the Social Sector. Its share of the get. The figure is about N3 billion less than it was in the
viewed the budget upward by 9 % after its review and actual disbursement in previous years, it could be seen preceding year. Again, the funding allocation does not
the governor assented into law the budget of N294.457 that actual disbursements is even more skewed in fa- match the stated intent of the government. Prioritizing a
for 2017. sector has to mean dedicating more than 0.3 % of the
N158.013 billion or 56.07 % of the budget was allocated entire budget to creating the capital infrastructure nec-
to recurring expenditure while N136.443 billion or 43.93 essary for that sector. It is difficult finding a reasonable
% was promised to capital expenditure. These figures explanation the dissonance between what the govern-
were 3% and 21% respectively higher than the corre- ment claims it wants to do in agriculture and the amount
sponding figures for recurrent and capital expenditures it allocates to the sector.
in the preceding year. The 2017 budget achieved a bet-
ter balance between recurrent and capital expenditures.
.

43 44

BUDGET MONITORING REPORT 7 Dore Numa College, Warri, Education N50m When monitors visited the school, Figure 7

PROJECT TITLE SEC- MONITORING REPORT IMAGE Warri South there was no work going on. Teachers
TION
and students are not aware of any

1 Afiesere secondary school, Education Citizen monitors found six class- Fig1a, project in the school.
Fig 1b
Ugheli, Ugheli-North L.G.A. N50m room blocks under renovation 8 Ubeji Grammar School, Warri, Education N50m The only project under renovation is a Fig 8
Delta state. with workers on site.
Warri-South. hall and is at roofing level.

2 Elume Grammar Education N50m Monitors found that 12 six Classroom Fig 2a, 9 Fencing Of Osubi Primary Education N50m When the team visited the School, Fig. 9
School, Sapele blocks and teachers’ offices were under- Fig 2b
School, Osubi. there was no fencing work going on in

going renovation. Workers were seen the school. The primary school has no

on site. fence. Teachers and students have no

3 Abaje Primary School, Ugu- Education N50m Our visit showed that renovation work Fig 3 idea of the said project.

wangue, Warri South Delta is still ongoing and nearing completion. Establishment Of Library At Education N150m In December 2017 citizen monitors that Fig. 10

State. Only the installation of electrical wiring Asaba and Sapele. visited the one in Sapele found a new

and the provision of classroom desk library building, but couldn’t gain ac-

remained to be completed. cess to the building because the gate

4 Adult Literacy Centre Ekpan, Education N50m Citizens monitors couldn’t locate this of the library building was locked.

Uvwu project anywhere in the community Upgrading of Four Central Health N300m Monitors visited the hospital in Warri

(Ekpan). A youth leader and some Hospitals in Warri, Ughelli, where no upgrade was undertaken in

residents in the community told mon- Agbor and Sapele. 2017.

itors that they do not know about the Development of Health Health N300m At the School of Nursing in Warri,

project. Institutions-School of Nursing the only visible projects seen were a

Ugbokodo Secondary School, Education N50.00m Monitors found 3 classrooms blocks Fig 4 Warri and Agbor. completed building and another that

Ugbokodo, Okpe. undergoing renovation. Development of School of Health N50m appeared to have been abandoned. Fig 11
Monitors did not see any indication
5 Ekete Grammar School, Education N50m Work was going on at the site as at Fig 5 Health Technology, Ufuoma,
that any project was going on there.
Ekete, Udu. December 2017. Monitors were in-
Ugheli. The team was informed by the staff
formed by workers and some teachers
that the only renovation work done
that work started 2 months earlier. The
at the school was done with money
renovation of 12 classrooms blocks,
generated by the school.
toilets and teachers’ offices. The
Construction of Primary Health N35m Monitors found an old but functioning Fig 12
school has no fence. Health Centre at Iwhere- health centre. No new health centre

6 Oha Secondary School, Oha, Education N50m On visiting this project, monitors dis- Fig 6 Nene. was built in the community in 2017.

Okpe covered found 15 classroom blocks,

toilets and offices undergoing renova-

tion work and nearing completion.

45 Conclusion and Recommendations 46

Photo Gallery

Fig. 1a Afiesere Secondary School, Ugheli Fig 2a. Elume Grammar School (School Fig 3. Abaje Primary School, Ugu- Delta State’s SMART development plan prior- expended. However, some projects were aban-
Ugheli North L.G.A. Delta State Sapele) wangue, Warri itises wealth and job creation programmes doned or incomplete months after they should
and achieving security through peacebuilding have been completed. Others only appeared in
Fig 4: Ugbokodo Secondary School, Ug- Fig. 5: Ekete Grammar School, Ekete, Udu Fig. 6: Oha Second- and peace architectural initiatives. There is a the budget, which suggests they are possibly
bokodo, Okpe ary School, Oha, Okpe declared focus on education and healthcare bogus projects. The people interviewed at the
delivery and the improvement of food security some of the sites visited were not aware that
through innovative agriculture. Achieving stern there were such project earmarked for their
environmental stewardship is yet another priority communities in the 2017 budget.
SMART emphasises. The state has to establish a mechanism through
The state in 2017 continued to underspend which annual variances between budgeted and
generally on the social sector and particularly actual figures could be analysed and incorporat-
on education and healthcare despite the claim ed into the budgeting process for the next period.
in SMART. Education only received 5 % while This variance exercise done regularly during the
health care got even less – receiving only 3 % of year will uncover phantom and abandoned proj-
the entire budget in 2017. These two subsectors ects. The state needs to investigate why there
were equally neglected in the capital expendi- were so many phantom projects in the 2017
ture front, receiving 12 % and 6 %, respectively, budget. About 25 % of the projects monitored in
of the total capital expenditure. SMART sounds the state had no physical presence anywhere in
smart, but it remains only an aspiration than a the state that was discernible from the budget
reality two years since its inception. Budget fig- documents. Improved communication about the
ures for the social sector are often not adhered budget to all communities would reduce this oc-
to which raises the question about the function currence. All traditional rulers and Community
of the budgeting exercise in the state. The state, Development Committees should receive annual
at least on social issues, seemed to treat bud- budget documets. This will improve accountabil-
geted figures as mere suggestions that it could ity and expedite development in the state. Cur-
wantonly disregard. There was no indication in rently, the paucity of information on government
the projects we monitored that this inauspicious actions and program priorities in the hands of the
tendency changed fundamentally in 2017. citizenry is a hindrance to transparency and par-
ticipatory governance.
Many of the projects we monitored were execut-
ed with the outcome not reflecting the amounts

Fig 7: Dore Numa College, Warri, Warri Fig 8: Ubeji Grammar School, Warri Fig 9: Osubi Primary School, Osubi
South

Fig 10: Delta State Library Sapele Fig 11. School of Health Technology, Ufuo- Fig. 12: Primary Health Centre at Iwhere-
ma, Ugheli. Nene.

47 48

 Capital: Kano

 Created: 27th May 1967

 Governor: Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje

 GDP (PPP), billion $: 12.4 (2007)

 GDP Per Capita, $: 1,288 (2007)

 Unemployment Rate, Percent: 21.3 (2011)

 Land area, sq. km: 20,280.0 (2006)

 Population, persons: 9,401,288 (2006)

 Population density, people per sq. km: 463.57

 Literacy Rate, Adult: 37.4 (2010)

KANO STATE Graph 5.1: Summary of 2016 Budget (January - September)
BUDGET ANALYSIS
The governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje tagged the 2017 budget of N209, 857,330,488
Background as “the budget for sustainable self-reliance”. While acknowledging the drop in key budget indices
like capital expenditure, IGR and recurrent expenditure, the governor blamed the decline on the eco-
Kano State, in northwestern Nigeria, has been a major entry port to the nation due to its nomic recession in the country that was occasioned by the fall in crude oil prices. He explained that
strategic location as the southern hub of the trans-Saharan trade route. The city of Kano, the shortfall in revenue would be augmented from domestic loans of N26.2 billion and other grants
which is the capital of the state, has served as a regional centre of commerce servicing parts estimated at N32.5 billion.
of northern Nigeria and neighbouring countries such as Niger, Chad and Cameroon, as well as The 2017 budget focused on the education sector, which got N17.5 billion. Ganduje explained: “We
across the Sahel economic zone/North Africa. want to remain steadfast and committed towards improving the quality of our education. That is why
Agriculturally, the state has over 1,754,200 hectares of arable land which has in the past been we are giving high priority to the sector.” The allocation to education was only lower than the vote to
cultivated and produced crop produce that uniquely put the state in the economic map of Ni- Works, Housing and Transport ministry and Ministry of Land & Physical Planning which got highest
geria. The ‘groundnut pyramids’ in the 1960s and 1970s was one of the evidence of how ag- and second highest allocations respectively.
riculture could boost economic activities and enhance revenue generation for the state. Over
the years, reliance on petroleum revenues via the Federation Account has disincentivised state
focus on the historically productive sectors of the economy.

49 50

Performance of the 2016 Budget Education Sector

Graph 5.3: 2017 Source of funds With a proposal of N17.79 billion, education com-
manded about 13 % of the capital expenditure and 8%
The revenue distribution indicates a revenue distribu- Graph 5.5: Capital allocation to Education against other of the overall budget. Comparatively, this was some
tion made up of 22.% of internally generated funds while capital outlay in the budget N9.31 billion short of the amount allocated to the sec-
the balance of 77.% consisted of loans and federal tor in 2016.
transfers. The government relied heavily on statutory The decline in the allocation to the educational sector
allocation including VAT and borrowing to finance ex- is understandable given that the entire country was in
penditure for the fiscal year. With a deficit of N64.6bil- recession for part of the year. But it also indicated the
lion, the government would be incurring more debt to correlation between what the state gets from the fed-
fund the 2017 budget. eral allocation and the states projected revenue. This
dependency is not unique to Kano State, but given its
historic role as a hub of economic activities, it should
be in a similar position as Lagos state concerning the
ability to generate revenue internally.

Graph 5.2: Summary of 2016 Budget (January - September) HEALTH SECTOR

The summary shows a capital expenditure budget per- The approved capital expenditure allocation for health
formance of 7% and a recurrent expenditure perfor- in the 2017 budget was N11.08 billion, or about 8 % of
mance of 84% for 2016 just before the end of the third the capital budget estimate and 5% of the total bud-
quarter. get. This figure was N2.52bn short of the amount bud-
geted for health in the preceding year.
.

2017 Budget Graph 5.4: 2017 Budget Size- Recurrent and Capital Share Graph 5.6: Capital allocation to Health Sub-sector against
other capital outlay in the budget
Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje presented the ap- Capital expenditure appeared to have a healthy edge
propriation bill of N209, 857,330,488 for the 2017 fis- over its recurrent counterpart as the above chart indi- Food Sufficiency Sector
cal year to the state House of Assembly for ratification. cated. This is a welcomed achievement if implement-
The House upon consideration of the bill hiked it to ed. The implementation of the budget is vital especially The food sufficiency sector comprises of three sub-
N217.932bn; an increase of about 4% of the original sum when one cast a cautionary eye on the implementation sectors, namely: agriculture, livestock, and fisheries.
presented. The approved bill consisted of N138.475 for of the 2016 budget that saw the state only spending 7 % Llivestock and fisheries did not attract the interest of
capital expenditure and N79.456 for recurrent undertak- of its budgeted capital expenditure.  Hence, one cannot the government of the state as they received zero al-
ings. The capital expenditure was less than that of 2016 take, as fait accompli, that the state will spend 64 % of location in 2017. The agriculture subsector received
by N51.873 or 27%. its revenue receipts for 2017 on capital expenditures. N6.1 The figure showed a decrease of about N1.9bn
The government’s antecedents, especially most recent- billion over the provision for the sector in 2016. Agri-
According to the fiscal document, the budget was to be ly, did not encourage such optimism. culture was allocated 4 % of capital projects and 3 %
financed by N54.28 billion share of the statutory fed- of the total budget for the fiscal year.
eral allocation, N49.23 billion from internally generated
revenue and N18 billion from VAT. Earnings from oth-
er sources woul be relied upon to fetch N5.41, while
the balance would be made up from loans, grants and
aids of N 26.20billion. The state had a budget deficit of
N64.60 billion


Graph 5.7: Capital allocation to Food Sufficiency against
other capital outlay in the budget

51 52

MONITORING REPORT 7 Rehabilitation Works N400m The project is ongoing (Garko
of Kwanar-Garko L.G)
Road Rana Road.
PROJECT TI- SEC- MONITORING REPORT IMAGE Education N28m No traditional kitchen was
TLE TION 8 Construction of constructed. Food is being
Health There was no purchase of any Fig 1a traditional kitchen cooked in an open space
1 Provision of Health generator. Monitors found a gen- Fig 2 at Bichi Model
power generating N40m erator donated by a local philan- Fig 3 Tsangaya School Education N23m From the findings of the team,
plant to Health N40m thropist at Sheik Jidda Hospital Fig 7 Education N10m there was no construction of
health facilities Health (Fagge L.G.A) 9 Construction of teachers’ lodge in the Model
and institutions Health N60m There were no purchases of Teachers Lodge Tsangaya school visited
furniture or any health facilities. at Gaya There was no construction of
2 Procurement N600m However, we found few benches block wall fence
of furniture and N555m donated by a philanthropist at 10 Construction of
health facili- Mamu Wali Hospital (Gwale block well fence in Education N475m The projection is ambigu-
ties L.GA) model Tsangaya ous and bogus, as it lacks
There were no interlocking land- School in Bichi the merit of specification.
3 Landscaping and scaping work at Wudil General
interlocking of Hospital (Wudil L.G.A.) 11 Construction of Works N1bn Project is completed (Kum-
hospitals 720 classrooms botsa L.G.A)
There was no renovation consisting of sto- Works N300m This is an abandoned proj-
4 Renovation and work at Bichi referral cen- rey block of ect which was started in
rehabilitation of tre (Bichi L.G.A.) 16 classroom and 2011 (Nassarawa L.G)
health institution duplex block.
The Tota PHC was not been
5 Upgrading of upgraded to a General Hospi- 12 Constriction of
PHCs to cottage tal in 2017 (Tota L.GA). under-pass way
and general hos- at Sharada-Pan-
pitals Health N20m No incinerator was construct- shekara 
ed. However, there was an old
6 Provision of incin- one provided in 2014, and it is 13 Construction of
erators to second- not functional. K/Jaba-Rimin
ary health facili- Bichi General hospital (Bichi) Kebe
ties in the state L.G
14 Dungurawa D/ Works N150m The project started in 2017 Fig 11
Tofa Road but appears to have been
abandoned. (D/Tofa)

15 Kwanar Zau- Works N750m This project was started in
ra-Ganduje Road 2016 but is still not com-
pleted (D/Tofa)

53 Conclusion And Recommendation 54

Photo Gallery

Fig. 1a power generating plant, Fagge Fig 1b. Kwanar Zaura-Ganduje Road Fig 2. cabinet benches donated to Mamu Kano State is amongst the very few pitiful. Only one project was successfully
L.G.A). Wali Hospital Gwale L.GA states that could be economically via- completed amongst the project our team
ble outside the extant economic arrange- monitored by the state in 2017 amongst the
Fig 3. Wudil General Hospital without Fig 4. Tsangaya Model School in Bichi Fig. 5. Rehabilitation of Kwanar-Garko ment between the 36 states plus Abuja and project we evaluated. This was the constric-
interlocks Road Rana Road the federal government. However, Kano a tion of under-pass way at Sharada-Panshe-
city-state is still a work in progress on the kara at a cost N1 billion. While some of the
economic front as it continues to struggle projected where abandoned half-way, other
converting its economic base into thriving projects monitored were never executed.
economic venture. It remains a principal The state needs to take the steps now that
state in the northern region of the coun- move it from its current potentiality to an ac-
try economically, socially and politically. It tuality. It could do no better than to look at
binds the Sahel countries and many North Lagos state and emulate what has worked
African countries to Nigeria through its im- in the southwestern state. It has to better
portance to the ancient trans-Saharan trade implement its budget. It should establish
and cultural route. an office of budget that will be responsible
Kano state should rival the independence for the logistics of budget making and im-
of Lagos state from federal allocations. It plementation. This office could also act as
is similarly situated as Lagos state as the the interface between the state government
dominant gateway into the country. And like and the general public on budget matters.
Lagos state, it is a city-state with a huge Phantom projects are a real drain on the re-
population, which hints of a big tax base. sources of the state and therefore a burden
Its economic and cultural axes are pres- on the people of the state. It hardly matters
ently focused or tuned to the metropoles of the circumstances under which projects be-
the Arab world unlike those of Lagos state come bogus projects. What counts is that
that are pivoted toward the centres of the they stop. The citizens of the state have a
western world. The Kano state government major role to play here by speaking up and
could easily turn these features of its state campaigning against them.
into internally generated income through
Fig 6 Food Cooked In Open Space In Bichi Fig 7. Tofa Phc Upgraded To General Fig 8. Trash At The Bichi General Hospital proactive planning and leveraging of its po-
Model Hospital (Bichi) L.G sition and population.
The implementation of the 2017 budget was

Fig 9. Bichi General hospital (Bichi) L.G Fig 10. under-pass way at Sharada-Pan- Fig. 11 Dungurawa D/Tofa Road
shekara 

55 56

 Capital: Lafia
 Created: 1 October 1996
 Governor: Umaru Tanko Al-Makura

 GDP Per Capita ($): 1,588 (2007)

 Unemployment Rate (%): 36.5 (2011)

 Land area (sq. km): 28,735.0 (2006)

 Population: 1,869,377 (2006)

 Literacy Rate (Adult): 52.9 (2010)

NASARAWA STATE Graph 6.1: Summary of 2016 Budget (January - December)
BUDGET ANALYSIS
Summary of Nasarawa State 2016 Budget of Reformation
Background
The focus of Government in the 2017 fiscal year was as follows:
Nasarawa State has 13 Local Government Areas spread over a landmass of 27,117 km2. Ag- i. The completion of projects that will turn the economic fortune of the citizenry, ii. The stimulation
riculture has been the economic mainstay of the people of the state where a variety of crops are of the economy out of recession,
produced throughout thGeraypeha4r.: TChapeirtealaarlelocaalstioonvatorioEuduscmatiinoanbalgeaminisnteortahlesrfcoaupnitdalinouthtleaysitnatteheinclud- iii. The encouragement and support of youth in agricultural production,
ing salt, barite, and bauxite, which are mostly minedbbuydgaertisanal miners. iv. The creation of conducive environment for the participation of the informal sector in income
The recurring farmers-herdsmen clashes that often result in deaths and injuries have marred the generation and sustainable production, and
socio-political climate in the state. The state government in 2017 attributed the proximate cause v. The protection of lives and property.
of the confrontations to the influx of herders to Nasarawa due, in the government’s estimation, These, the state hoped, would empower youth, boost economic production, build value chain,
to the enactment of anti-open grazing legislation in Benue state – one of the states that border strengthen commercial ventures and safeguard the environment.
Nasarawa. The farmer-herder clashes have become a national crisis because many states are
presently affected. Also, the debates that the clashes have engendered highlights the many
schisms that have historically bedevilled the country.

57 58

Performance of the 2016 Budget The following were the anticipated revenue sources
for 2017:
A. Opening balance of N 6.42 Billion Educational Sub-Sector The composition of capital projections to the Edu-
B. Federation Account cation Sub-sector included allocations to the Minis-
Capital Ependiture try of Education, Universal Basic Education Board,
i. Statutory Revenue Allocation of N22 Billion Social Sector
ii. Value Added Tax (VAT) of N8.5 Billion; Total Budget State Library, Ministry of Special Education, Sci-
iii. Exchange Gain of N2.5 Billion; ence & Technology and Scholarship Board.
iv. Special Allocation of N300 Million;
C. Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of N7.53
Billion.
D. Aids and Grants of N6.98 Billion;
E. Budget Support Facility of N8.98 Billion;
F. Commercial Bank Loan/Overdraft of N10.00 Billion.

S FGraph 6.2: Summary of 2016 Budget (January - October)
ources of unds

Out of the projected receipt of N79.30 billion for 2016 Graph 6.5: Capital allocaation to education subsector in the budget
fiscal year, N43.10 billion was realized as at the end
of October of the same year. This represents 54.35% Health Sub-Sector
of the total expected revenue for 2016.
Capital Ependiture
During the same period, N24.68 billion was spent on Social Sector The composition of capital projections to Health
recurrent items while N18.42 billion was spent on cap- Total Budget sub-sector included allocations to Ministry of
ital projects, which represented a budget performance Health,
of 55% and 51%, respectively. Graph 6.6: Capital Allocaation to Health Subsector in the Budget Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Hos-
pitals Management Board, Special and General
2017 Budget Hospitals, School of Nursing & Midwifery, School
of Health Technology and Medical Centres in the
While presenting the 2017 appropriation bill to the state State.
House of Assembly, the governor decried the contin-
ued dwindling monthly allocation from the federation Graph 6.3: Source of funding the 2017 Budget Educational Sub-Sector
account. Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura presented
the 2017 appropriation bill with total expenditure outlay The revenue portrait diagrammed above showed a
of N67.013 billion. The budget was to be financed with major dependent on statutory allocations. The state
projected earnings of N53.99 billion. The governor ex- also expected a considerable amount of borrowing,
pected that the federal government’s Budget Support and N8.9 billion from its independent revenue sources.
Facility would help to finance the deficit. The budget Internally generated revenue represented only 13% of
framework showed a decrease of N13.90 billion or the total revenue projections.
17.18% relative to the 2016 appropriation.

2017 Budget Size- Recurrent and Capital Share Capital Ependiture The Food Sufficiency Sub-sector included the de-
Social Sector partments of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries.
The recurrent expenditure composition in 2017 was Total Budget
greater that the amount allocated to capital expendi- The figures represented here were the allocations
ture by 10%. This meant that there were less funds Graph 6.7: Capital Allocaation to Health Subsector in the Budget to Ministry of Agriculture and Nasarawa Agricul-
for developmental projects. Judging, however, from
the performance of the capital as compared to the tural Development Programme (NADP)
recurrent in 2016 (51% versus 55% ), it is hoped
that actual expenditure would not unduly disfavour
capital assets as was the case in most of the states
we reviewed.

Graph 6.4: 2017 Budget Size- Recurrent and Capital
Share

59 60

BUDGET MONITORING REPORT IMAGE
PROJECT TI- SEC- MONITORING REPORT
TLE TION

1 Completion of Health N 78m This project was awarded and con- Fig 1,
School of Nursing structed in 2004 by the first civilian fig 2,
and Midwifery, Lafia administration in the state. Moni- Fig 3
toring visits to the site confirmed
that no work was either ongoing or
recent as at December 2017.

2 Construction of and Health A visit to the site confirmed that Fig 4 Fig 1. School of Nursing and Midwifery Fig 2. School of Nursing and Midwifery Fig 3. School of Nursing and Midwifery
Equipment of Modern work had been abandoned at the Fig 5, Lafia Lafia Lafia
HOSPITAL LAFIA site. There was no single personnel fig 6
or worker seen.

3 Construction of Health N90m The contract for the project was
CPHC at Gudi. awarded in 2003 and completed in
2005. Monitors were chased away
by security men guiding the CPHC
clinic when they tried to visit the
site.

4 Purchases of Agricul- N300m Monitors visited the Ministry of Ag-
Assorted Fertil- ture riculture Headquarters, Lafia to find
izers out if fertilisers were procured for Fig 4. 160 Beds Standard Model Hospi- Fig 5. 160 Beds Standard Model Hospital, Fig 6. 160 Beds Standard Model Hos-
tal, Lafia Lafia
pital, Lafia

distribution to farmers. The state
government could not supply farmers
the said fertilisers in the 2017 farm-
ing season. Amount budgeted for
fertilisers may have been diverted.

5 Construction of Vet- Agricul- N30m This project was supposed to be the Fig 7,
erinary Hospital Lafia ture construction of veterinary Hospital, Fig 8
but what monitors saw was a partial
renovation of an old structure, which
was occupied by an entirely differ- Fig 7 supposed location for then Veteri- Fig 8 Renovated structure for the Veteri-
ent agency. nary Hospital Lafia nary Clinic being occu

6 Development/ Fenc- Agricul- N6m This project was initially construct-
ing of Fish Farm ture ed over 50 years ago. Nothing has
and Construction of been done ever since. Farmers
Hatchery at Kant- have now taken over the land.
sakuwa When we visited the site, there was
no indication of a fish farm in Kant-
sakuwa.

7 Agricultural Empow- Agricul- N50m Our visit to the Ministry of Agricul-
erment Scheme ture ture revealed that there was no
such scheme.

8 Purchase of Tractors Agricul- N15m Our visit to the tractor hiring agen-
and Implements ture cy of the state showed nothing on
ground.

61 62

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION

Nasarawa is amongst the states affected by ly selected for site visit were abandoned or
the farmer-herdsmen clashes that have never got off the ground. More bizarrely, the
plagued Nigeria in recent times. These clash- state government budgeted for the fencing of
es have resulted in many deaths; concernedly a fish project that had been abandoned for
many farmers have been killed in the clashes many decades. This project was constructed
in the state. This invariably will affect both food over 50 years ago by the then Plateau state.
and cash crop production. For a state that is Our visit to the site showed that farmers have
decidedly still an agrarian economy, these reclaimed the land.
clashes do not bode well. The state intentions and actions in 2017 re-
Budgeting in the state remains poor as proj- mained very far apart or irreconcilable. This
ects executed about thirteen years ago ap- needs to change if the state is to develop fur-
peared in the 2017 budget as new projects. ther and reduce its dependency on the federal
The School of Nursing and Midwifery in La- government. It is required that budget should
fia remained as it was in 2004, despite fresh be accompanied by an implementable action
budgetary allocations in 2017. No addition or plan, fully costed and scrutinized line by line
renovation was done in 2017. We could not to ensure that projects are not recidivating or
find any reasonable explanation for this dis- making recurring appearances. The public and
crepancy despite all our entreaties to the min- civil society should be empowered to fulfil their
istry of health. Also, there was fresh allocation roles in a democracy. This means monitoring
of N90 million for the construction of CPCH in projects of the state without fear or intimida-
Gudi notwithstanding the fact that the contract tion from those entrusted with power or their
for the project was approved and awarded in agents. Government agencies – departments,
2003 and the work completed two years ago. ministries should commit to being genuinely
The story of the implementation of the 2017 public spaces, and access to them should be
budget in the state has to be the story of aban- as open as necessary in a democracy.
doned projects. Most the projects we random-