Policy Alert, a non-governmental organisation has decried recent decline on fiscal transparency by the Akwa Ibom State Government for the first and second quarters of 2025.

Working in collaboration with other civil society groups in the state, the NGO which works to ensure that policy, legislative, and business processes yield meaningful and sustainable outcomes for people, said such rollback will reduce the ability for civil society, media, and stakeholders to scrutinize fiscal activities in the state and further weakens a system of checks and balances built over years.

Speaking at the Public Finance Management Review meeting for Q1 and Q2 2025/Press Briefing in Uyo on Monday, Tijah Bolton-Akpan, Executive Director, Policy Alert reported that out of the 36 states of the federation, only Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Plateau, and Rivers have not published detailed capital expenditure reports since Q1 2025.

“For Q1 and Q2 2025, the State has reduced its Budget Implementation Report to a 3-page summary instead of the usual comprehensive reports (averaging 46-pages) in preceding years. This superficial reporting marks a significant departure from previous transparency standards.

“The implication is that it will reduce the ability for civil society, media, and stakeholders to scrutinize fiscal activities in the state and further weakens a system of checks and balances built . Most states publish reports exceeding 60 pages, including project-level details in key sectors like Education and Health.

Akpan who regretted that the recent rollback in financial transparency was against the gains earlier achieved on fiscal transparency and accountability said;

“Akwa Ibom State has over the years made steady progress in fiscal transparency and accountability. Early gains include the online publication of annual budgets (since 2015) and the (publication of annual budget implementation reports (since 2018) and the holding of annual citizens budget forums since 2019.

“Policy Alert and other civil society organisations in the state have since 2014 worked with key MDAs in the state to ensure the emplacement of legal frameworks and practices in support of fiscal transparency and accountability.

“The state made remarkable progress on fiscal reforms in response to incentives provided by the World Bank/FG-supported SFTAS between 2018 to 2022 and the USAID State to State Activity provided”.

The NGO listed key gaps in the current public finance management cycle to include; lack of detailed breakdown of revenue by Administrative Classification (e.g., IGR by MDA), Lack of data on Revenue Sources: Statutory Allocations, Derivation Funds, VAT shares, Ecological Funds, etc., and Missing IGR details: Taxes, Licenses, Royalties, Fees, Rents, Investment Income, and Interest Earned.

It reminded the Akwa Ibom State Government that its recent actions breached the Fiscal Responsibility Law (Section 48 (1)) which mandates full, timely, and wide disclosure of public finances. “The current limited reporting falls short of these legal requirements, risking non-compliance and undermining public trust”.

To restore and strengthen financial transparency in the state, the NGOs which took turns to make inputs on the discussion called on the Akwa Ibom State Government to;

“Reinstate the publishing of comprehensive quarterly and annual BIR reports including the following details: Revenue by source and classification, Expenditure by MDA and sector capital projects with line-item details, Align with PFM-aligned Legal Frameworks, including the following; Akwa Ibom State Fiscal Responsibility Law 2020, Public Procurement Law 2019 and the Freedom of Information Act and other relevant laws.”

To improve data accessibility, the CSOs also called on the state government to; make financial reports available online in user-friendly formats, engage civil society and media in data interpretation, establish transparent mechanisms for tracking and publishing project-level capital expenditure and regularly update and publish performance reports to encourage transparency, accountability and ease of monitoring. (Daily Independent)