By Rivers and Oyo states recorded the two lowest scores in BudgIT’s Q1 2026 States Fiscal Transparency League (SFTL), with Rivers scoring 0 out of 73 points and Oyo scoring 26 points, representing 36%.
The Q1 2026 assessment evaluates the publication of key fiscal documents by Nigeria’s 36 states, including proposed and approved budgets, quarterly Budget Implementation Reports (BIRs), e-procurement portals, and fiscal data repositories. While nine states recorded perfect scores in the latest assessment, Rivers and Oyo ranked at the bottom of the table.
Rivers Records Zero Score
According to BudgIT, Rivers did not receive points under any of the five assessment indicators. The state did not publish a proposed budget, approved budget, Budget Implementation Report, functional e-procurement portal, or fiscal data repository during the assessment period.
The report identified Rivers as “the only state with a persistent disclosure gap” and “the only state with a continuous record of non-disclosure over the five reporting periods.”
During much of 2025, Rivers operated under a federally declared emergency rule after President Bola Tinubu appointed Ibok-Ete Ibas as sole administrator following the political dispute between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Martin Amaewhule-led House of Assembly.
During that period, the state’s budget was submitted by President Tinubu to the Senate for approval rather than being presented through the state’s legislative process. Governor Fubara presented a new budget in July 2026 after the House of Assembly approved the state’s 2026 to 2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework. The budget, valued at N1.854 trillion and titled “Budget of Resilience for Growth and Development,” was presented after the period covered by BudgIT’s Q1 2026 assessment.
Oyo Scores 26 Points
Oyo recorded 26 out of 73 points in the assessment.
According to the report, the state scored zero points for its proposed budget, approved budget, and e-procurement portal. It received full points for its Budget Implementation Report and partial points for its fiscal data repository.
Governor Seyi Makinde presented the state’s 2026 appropriation bill of N891.99 billion to the Oyo State House of Assembly on November 24, 2025, under the theme “Budget of Economic Expansion.” The Assembly passed the budget into law in December 2025 at N892.09 billion.
Before the budget presentation, the state government conducted public consultations across Oke-Ogun, Ogbomoso and Iseyin as part of the budget preparation process.
By mid-2026, the state government also published a half-year budget implementation report indicating 77.5% budget execution against target.
National Performance
BudgIT’s report showed that Rivers and Oyo were the only two states that did not receive full marks for approved budget availability, reducing national approved-budget availability from 100% in Q1 2025 to 94.4% in Q1 2026.
The report recommended that states publish Budget Implementation Reports within the timelines prescribed by law, maintain functional e-procurement portals, update fiscal data repositories with comprehensive information and institutionalise routine fiscal disclosure practices.
