Former Minister of National Planning, Professor Osita Ogbu, has attributed the persistent issue of poor budget implementation across Nigerian states to the country’s flawed political and electoral system.
Speaking during the presentation of a research analysis on the 2025 state government budgets, led by Dr. Uzochukwu Amakom of the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Ogbu criticized the lack of accountability among elected officials.
According to Ogbu, many governors disregard the state budget process and its execution because they ascend to power through manipulated electoral outcomes, not through genuine popular support. “When leaders do not owe their mandate to the people, they have no incentive to implement budgets that serve them,” he stated.
He stressed the need for electoral reform and stronger civic engagement to ensure that governance is performance-based and that public funds are utilized effectively for development. The research presentation highlighted glaring inconsistencies in budget execution across various states, reinforcing calls for systemic overhaul in Nigeria’s democratic and fiscal practices.
“From the first day in office, many governors are already focused on re-election; they don’t care about their performance and that is why they only make budget provisions but fail to release funds for implementation,” he said.
Speaking further, he said: “To be able to fix budgetary issues, we must fix the politics in Nigeria; our governors must begin to understand that allocation is not the same thing as actual expenditure.”
In his presentation, Amakom said that the analysis was informed by the need to help the public to understand the priorities of different states across the country beyond the public declarations made by state governors and the various challenges facing the budgeting process in Nigeria.