Data released by 33 out of Nigeria’s 36 states shows that there is a huge disparity among the states in terms of budgeted sums.
The 33 states which have released their budget proposals plan to spend a combined N6.22 trillion in 2017 as against the N5.92 trillion which 36 states of the federation spent in 2017, indicating that Nigeria’s states are bracing up to spend more this year.
Lagos, which is the commercial capital of Nigeria, is increasing its budget by 23 percent year-on-year, the state plans to spend N813billion in the 2017 financial year as against N662.59billion which it spent in 2016.
Apart from Lagos, 9 other states have shown themselves to be financial power houses, they include Rivers (N470billion), Akwa Ibom (N365billion), Cross Rivers (N301billion), Delta (N271billion), Bayelsa (N221 billion), Ogun (N221billion), Kaduna (N215billion), Kano (N210billio), and Oyo (N207billion).
The budget figures show that there is a wide disparity between the spending of states. For instance, Bayelsa which has a population of less than 4.5million people has a budget of N221billion as against Kano’s N210billion. Kano is projected as a state which has a population in excess of 18million people.
Budget data collected and analysed by BusinessDay for the past six years indicates that the traditional 10 biggest spending states maintained their position.
In 2017, the combined budget of the 10 big spenders is greater than what the other 26 states combined. The ten major spenders are planning to spend N 3.29trillion as against the total budget of N3.01trillion 23 states which have released their budget figures.
Lagos which has the biggest state budget in the country will spend more than what the five states in the south-East plan to spend in 2017. Also, the budget of Lagos exceeds the combined budget of the six states in the North Central by N31billion.
Apart from Lagos, most of the big spenders are drawn from the oil rich South-South. States in the region are probably depending on proceeds of the 13% derivation which analyst predict may increase on the back of oil prices which has inched upward marginally as OPEC asserts its cut.
