States of Decline

The year 2015 witnessed unprecedented economic downturn in Nigeria. With the price of crude oil in the international market dropping steeply, the Nigerian economy shrank and the government considered activating austerity measures.

At the subnational level, the situation seemed worse. The failure of states over the years to save during periods of boom and their incapacity to create alternative and independent avenues for generating revenue, became evident in the year. All the states covered in this report had caused to approach the Federal Government for bailout funds to pay civil servants. The ability of the states to implement capital projects suffered significantly. Despite the daunting reality of economic decline, some of the states still fail to put measures in place to ensure transparency, accountability and prudence in the use of resources.

This report is a product of yearlong budget advocacy activities by members of the Niger Delta Citizens and Budget Platform. It presents analyses of the 2015 budget of 5 states -Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Rivers- detailing the expenditure preferences of each and their revenue generation policies.

The report also presents findings of budget monitors who went to the field in late 2015 to examine the state of execution of capital projects in the sectors of Education, Health and Food Sufficiency mentioned in the budgets of the various states. Download Full Report