Several major civil society organisations in Nigeria are calling on the federal government to strengthen transparency and accountability in how public funds are spent. Groups including the Centre for Social Justice, Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), PLSI, BudgIT and PRIMORG criticised what they described as “fiscal rascality” in the implementation of the national budget and urged clearer disclosure of government expenditure to the public.
The organisations expressed deep concern about the lack of accessible information on how approved budget allocations are being translated into actual spending on services and projects. They warned that without robust transparency and timely reporting, citizens and lawmakers cannot effectively track whether public money is being used as intended, weakening accountability and undermining public confidence.
Their demand comes amid broader national debate over Nigeria’s budget process. Critics have highlighted issues such as delayed publication of budget performance reports and the overlap of multiple fiscal years’ budgets being implemented at the same time—practices that, they argue, make it harder to scrutinise government finances and hold officials accountable.
The civil society coalition is urging the federal government to release comprehensive budget implementation reports, ensure each stage of spending is transparent, and improve access to fiscal data so that Nigerians can hold public officials to account.
