Uyo, July 29, 2025
The recent publication of the Akwa Ibom State Budget Implementation Report (BIR) for the first and second quarters of 2025 has raised serious concerns in public circles, especially among civil society and the media, regarding the government’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
During the past decade, Akwa Ibom State made significant strides in public finance management reforms. These strides were driven by the spirited advocacy of civil society organisations in the state and the support of development partners. Notable among these efforts included the online publication of annual budgets, the publication of detailed Budget Implementation Reports, Audited Financial Statements, Report of the State Auditor General, annual Citizens Budget, Citizens’ Accountability Report, and Annual Debt Sustainability Reports. Others are the enactment of progressive public finance legislation including the Akwa Ibom State Fiscal Responsibility Law 2020, the Akwa Ibom State Public Procurement Law 2019, and the Akwa Ibom State Audit Law 2021.
However, recent trends in the state point to a disturbing decline in compliance with these accountability frameworks. Specifically, we point to the latest Budget Implementation Reports (BIRS) for Q 1 and Q2 of 2025 which have been reduced to a mockery of the fiscal transparency instrument they were designed to be. A review of the 2025 first and second quarter BIRs across Nigeria’s 36 states reveals that with the exception of Rivers State (which does not publish a BPR), and inaccessible reports from Anambra and Plateau, all other states have comprehensive BIRs that include detailed capital project breakdowns, especially in sectors like Education and Health.
Moreover, the current BIR for Q2 of 2025, which came as a scanty three-page document, represents a further decline from the quality of previous reports which, as we have repeatedly pointed out, had problematically omitted details of capital budget line items. Since 2019, Akwa Ibom State has not published a comprehensive capital expenditure report. What is available are partial project-level details for Q1 through Q3 in approved budgets, often excluding the crucial Fourth Quarter data.
The current reports lack even more key pieces of information, including:
- No details/ disaggregation of Revenue by Administrative Classification, i.e. Revenue by Administrative Classification generated by individual MDAs.
- No details / disaggregation of Revenue by Economic Classification, i.e. data on the inflow from sources such as Statutory Allocation, Derivation Funds, VAT share, Excess Crude, Ecological Funds, and others. Additionally, IGR sources like taxes, licenses, royalties, fees, fines, rents, investment income, and interest earned are not disclosed.
- No details / disaggregation of Expenditure by Administrative Classification, information on how budgeted funds are spent across MDAs, particularly whether key sectors such as Agriculture, Education, Health, and WASH are prioritized over administrative MDAs like Government House, SSG Office, or the House of Assembly.
- No details / disaggregation of Expenditure by Programme/Functional Classification, i.e information on spending categorized according to the purposes and objectives for which they are intended e.g.Public Debt, environmental protection, etc.
This failure to provide comprehensive financial data constitutes a clear breach of the Akwa Ibom State Fiscal Responsibility Law (2020), specifically Section 48(1) which mandates that the State conduct its fiscal and financial affairs transparently, ensuring “full and timely disclosure” of all transactions involving public revenues and expenditures. The current opaque reporting undermines this legal obligation and erodes public trust. It also grossly limits citizens’ capacity to link budget implementation to key priorities under the government’s avowed policy direction, the ARISE Agenda.
We also note a disturbing trend in public procurement in the state which is in clear violation of the Akwa Ibom State Public Procurement Law 2019. Specifically we note that:
- details regarding total project costs, timelines, and specifications are often not disclosed
- the current practice of the Executive Council approving contracts based on memos from the Finance and General Purpose Committee (FGPC) raises questions about oversight and flies in the face of the Akwa Ibom State Public Procurement Law (2019) which stipulates that procurement processes must be conducted transparently, with oversight by the Bureau of Public Procurement.
In view of the foregoing, the undersigned civil society groups in the state call on the Akwa Ibom State Government to:
- Recall the recently released Q2 2025 Budget Implementation Report and immediately publish a comprehensive, detailed, and accessible BIR for Q2 2025. Further publish historical Budget Implementation Reports that have omitted key details of revenue and expenditure in the state.
- Comply fully with legal requirements on transparency and procurement in line with extant laws in the state
- Reconstitute the Public Procurement Council and empower the Bureau of Public Procurement fully, establish a Procurement Council in line with legal provisions, and adhere to principles of open, competitive and transparent bidding in all public procurement activities and reinstate the e-procurement portal for key sectors, including health, education, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and infrastructure/public works.
ENDORSED BY THE FOLLOWING CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS:
1. Policy Alert
2. Steps To Sustainable Transformation and Empowerment Foundation(STEPS)
3. Clement Isong Foundation (CIF)
4. Vitonia Lead Foundation
5. Hallowed Hands Initiative
6. Rebuilders Foundation
7. Little Light Women & Children Initiative
8. Bluegreen Initiative for Sustainable Development Network
9. Support Persons in Trauma Initiative
10. Hope for Coastal Women Empowerment Initiative
11. Youth for Change & Social Life Development Foundation (YOFCI)
12. Citizen Community Aid & Development Initiative
13. Milestone Initiative for Human Rights and Empowerment
14. Anti-Corruption and Transparency Support Initiative (ACTSI)
15. Ibom Peer Foundation
16. Peace Point Development Foundation PPDF
17. Bestway Initiative
18. Community Partners for Development
19. Women United for Economic Empowerment (WUEE)
20. Women Initiative for Self Actualisation (WISA)
21. Dynamic Youth Development Association
22. Network Advancement Program for Poverty and Disaster Risk Reduction (NAPPDRR)
