BudgIT commends FG for publishing proposed 2024 government-owned enterprises budget

BudgIT, a prominent civic-tech organisation promoting transparency, accountability and effective service delivery in Nigeria, has commended the Federal Government for taking a step toward transparency by publishing the 2024 proposed budget of its Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs).

In response to several requests by BudgIT, the Federal Government for the first time, published the proposed budget for 62 government-owned enterprises on the Budget Office of the Federation’s website.

This step comes after BudgIT’s advocacy efforts, including an opinion piece, ‘2024 Budget: 10 Plagues President Tinubu Must Avoid,’ published in August 2023, urging the administration to make the GOEs’ budget public.

Additionally, on December 11, 2023, “we raised concerns about the absence of GOEs’ budget in the 2024 Appropriation Bill, drawing attention through another opinion piece, 2024 Budget: Issues Begging for Attention.

“As a result of this unprecedented feat, we commend the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning and the Budget Office of the Federation for heeding several calls made over the years by BudgIT and other civil society actors on the need for increased transparency in GOE operations,” the organisation said in a statement.

While disclosing that the proposed 2024 GOEs’ budget is crucial in spotlighting these revenue-generating entities, further disclosure of its approved budget and previous years’ budget implementation reports are vital to foster accountability.

To this end, BudgIT urged the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning and the Budget Office of the Federation to continue in their effort to ensure transparency in the use and allocation of government resources.

“We anticipate that the ministry will make public comprehensive details of the 2024 approved budget to keep citizens informed and empowered to engage with the government across all levels, “ it stated.