BudgIT Foundation

🗣️ Dear Nigerians, If there’s one thing worth paying attention to today, it’s the 2026 budget. ₦68.32 trillion has been proposed. That’s public money. Our money. Here’s what it looks like: 📌 ₦32.29tn — Capital projects 📌 ₦15.81tn — Debt servicing 📌 ₦15.43tn — Running government 📌 ₦4.79tn — Transfers to agencies The government expects ₦36.87tn in revenue but plans to spend ₦68.32tn. That gap is a ₦31.45tn deficit. Built on these assumptions: 📌 Oil production — 1.84m bpd 📌 Oil price — $64.85 📌 Exchange rate — ₦1,400/$ 📌 GDP growth — 4.28% And it will be covered by: 📌 ₦29.20tn — Borrowing 📌 ₦2.05tn — External loans 📌 ₦189bn — Asset sales Where is revenue coming from? 📌 ₦22.98tn — Federation revenues 📌 ₦5.85tn — Govt-owned enterprises 📌 ₦4.31tn — Independent revenue 📌 ₦1.38tn — Aid & grants Meanwhile, some spending is already locked in: 📌 ₦15.81tn — Debt servicing (₦10.16tn domestic, ₦5.36tn foreign) And statutory transfers have grown sharply: ₦810bn (2022) → ₦4.79tn (2026) With major allocations to: 📌 INEC — ₦1.01tn 📌 NDDC — ₦618bn 📌 National Assembly — ₦577bn 📌 Judiciary — ₦610bn Top sector priorities: 📌 Security — ₦9.36tn 📌 Infrastructure — ₦7.62tn 📌 Health — ₦3.55tn 📌 Education — ₦2.73tn Knowing the budget means you can track it. It means you can ask questions and you can notice when these numbers don’t show up in roads, schools and hospitals around you. So as you go through this breakdown, don’t just scroll. Pay attention too! #2026BudgetNG #FollowTheMoney #AskQuestions

Nigeria is full of people doing extraordinary things with little to no recognition. That changes now! BudgIT’s Active Citizens Awards was created to spotlight the people showing up for their communities, driving change, and making impact quietly but consistently. We’re talking activists, community organisers, artists, researchers, social entrepreneurs, and everyday changemakers proving that active citizenship is alive across Nigeria. This year features 12 categories, and 7 of them are open for public nominations. Yes, you can nominate yourself too. Nominations are officially open and will run until June 14. Someone came to mind while reading this? don’t scroll past them! nominate them 👉 awards.civichive.org #ACA2026 #ActivCitizensAwards

🗣️ Dear Nigerians, We talked about where the N68.32 trillion is going. Now let’s talk about who is getting what. Here’s how the 2026 budget is split across sectors: 📌 Security & Defence — N6.98tn 📌 Infrastructure — N6.84tn 📌 Agriculture — N3.64tn 📌 Health — N3.55tn 📌 Education — N2.73tn 📌 Science, Technology & Innovation — N1.93tn 📌 Social Development & Poverty Reduction — N800bn 📌 Women Affairs — N170bn 📌 Communication & Digital Economy — N85.56bn Security and infrastructure alone take nearly N14 trillion. That is more than health, education, agriculture, and science combined. Inside infrastructure: 📌 Works — N3.59tn 📌 Water Resources — N629.67bn 📌 Transportation — N457.56bn 📌 Power — N1.13tn 📌 Aviation — N87.31bn 📌 Housing — N145.31bn These are the numbers behind every road, every hospital, every school, or the absence of them. Now we have seen the promises. Let’s continue to follow the money. #2026BudgetNG #FollowTheMoney #AskQuestions

As part of strengthening BudgIT’s subnational engagement, we paid a courtesy visit to the Governor of @abiastategovt_official , His Excellency Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, to discuss areas of collaboration around fiscal sustainability, transparency, accountability, social sector investments, support for women, and improvements in Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the state. During the meeting, our Global Director, @seun_onigbinde , commended Governor Alex Otti for the remarkable progress recorded so far, particularly Abia State’s rise from 17th to 4th position in BudgIT’s State Fiscal Transparency League Table within two years. Our Country Director, @vahyalakwaga , also applauded the administration’s openness to collaboration and its commitment to strengthening governance and service delivery for citizens. Responding, Governor Alex Otti reaffirmed that transparency remains a priority for his administration. He also spoke about ongoing improvements in the education and health sectors, including free and compulsory basic education, increased school enrolment, teacher recruitment, and efforts to revitalise healthcare facilities and PHCs across the state. A productive conversation, a shared commitment, and another important step towards building stronger systems for the people of Abia State. #Transparency #GetInvolved

🗣️Call for Nominations Opens for the Active Citizens Awards 2026 The third annual Active Citizens Awards is here. The event, themed ‘Celebrating Voices, Inspiring Actions’, will take place on Friday, July 24, 2026, at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. The Active Citizens Awards recognise changemakers who are using advocacy, technology, community organising, creativity, research, and public service to drive positive social impact and strengthen democratic values. The awards seek to spotlight citizens and groups whose work continues to inspire participation, accountability, inclusion, and collective action within society. Speaking on the award, BudgIT’s Country Director, Vahyala Kwaga, said: “The Active Citizens Awards is about recognising the everyday people and organisations who continue to show courage, leadership, and commitment to building stronger communities and a more accountable society. Across Nigeria, we are witnessing young people, civic actors, creatives, and innovators shaping the future of democracy and citizen participation, often against difficult odds. This award is an opportunity to celebrate their impact and amplify their work.” The assessment of shortlisted nominees and the final selection of winners will be based on specific criteria: innovation, impact, milestones, sustainability, diversity, inclusion, organisational structure, and leadership quality. Members of the public are encouraged to submit nominations for deserving individuals and organisations through the official nomination platform. Self-nominations will also be accepted. The nomination platform opens Today, May 14, 2026 and closes on June 14, 2026. Shortlisted nominees and award recipients will be announced ahead of the official Active Citizens Awards ceremony, scheduled for July 24, 2026. For details on nomination guidelines, award categories, and submission procedures, visit awards.civichive.org. PRESS STATEMENT #ACA2026 #ActiveCitizensAwards2026

Active Citizen Awards Press Briefing

AI is changing everything: how we work, how we think, and how impact is made, it’s moving fast and shaping every space, but not everyone is on the train yet. Are you a CSO professional looking to improve how your organisation works with data and technology? Are you a journalist, researcher, civic innovator, or student interested in using AI for social impact? Then this is for you 🚀 Applications for the Kano Cohort of the AI Clinic for Civic Impact are now open. Gain practical skills in: 📌 AI for advocacy and research 📌 Prompt engineering 📌 Workflow automation 📌 AI-powered monitoring and evaluation 📌 Ethical and responsible AI use Learn how to work smarter, save time, and use AI to strengthen your impact. The future of civic work is already changing, don’t get left behind. Apply now via 👉 http://bit.ly/4feRJFy Application deadline: Tuesday, 21 May, 2026 #GetInvolved #AIClinic #CivicImpact

If you live in Lagos Island, then this concerns YOU. Did you know that? Between January and December 2025 alone, Lagos Island LGA received a total of N21.14bn in FAAC allocations. Out of the N6.51bn FAAC projected in its 2026 budget, N7.63bn had already been received between January and March alone. Even more shocking 🤔, according to its 2026 budget record, FAAC revenue increased by 818.72%, from N462.57m in 2024 to N4.24bn in 2025. Yet, the LGA’s projected Internally Generated Revenue for 2026 is just N638m out of a N16.62bn budget. Now the real question is: - Are you seeing the impact of these funds in your roads, schools, healthcare centres, drainage systems, markets, or communities? 🤔 - What projects have been completed? - What exactly is being funded? - Who is monitoring implementation? - How is this money improving your daily life? - As residents of Lagos Island, we cannot afford to be silent observers anymore. Accountability starts with asking questions. Be the voice that drives transparency, accountability, and better governance in Lagos Island today. Visit me.budgit.org to track projects, allocations, and public spending in your LGA. #ParticipatoryGovernance #AskQuestions #producttuesday

Tomorrow, we bring the conversation on state policing in Nigeria to the table. From rising insecurity to questions of accountability and constitutional limits, the debate on decentralising policing has never been more urgent. At Devolution of Policing in Nigeria: Pathways to Effective and Accountable State Policing, panellists will examine the realities, risks, and opportunities shaping this reform, and what it will take to get it right. Meet the panel: 📌 Tosin Osasona — Lead, Page Africa 📌 CSP Madueke Enwere — Chief Superintendent of Police, Force Legal Services, Force Headquarters Abuja 📌 Idris Habib Shuaibu — Security Intelligence Analyst, @beacon_intelligenceng Moderator: 📌 Nkiru Uzodi — Programme Manager, @placng 📍 Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja ⏰ 9:00 AM Join us as we explore pathways to a more effective and accountable policing system in Nigeria. #GetInvolved #StatePolicing

When people no longer feel safe in their communities, conversations about policing can no longer be postponed. Nigeria’s security challenges continue to raise important questions about how policing can become more effective, accountable, and closer to the people it serves. Join Open Alliance Nigeria for a timely conversation on the future of policing in Nigeria as stakeholders examine pathways to accountable and community responsive state policing. 🗓 Wednesday, May 13, 2026 ⏰ 9:00 AM 📍 Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja The conversation is here, and you should be in the room. #GetInvolved #StatePolicing #Security

Our mothers didn’t call it accountability but we learned it anyway. From returning change, to asking questions, to taking responsibility, they gave us simple lessons with clear expectations. Today, we celebrate the women who raised us with values that still matter. And we remember that those same values should guide how our country is run. Happy Mother’s Day✨

“Is political entry in Nigeria truly open, or does money still quietly decide who gets in?” That was the question that shaped the room last Thursday as young Nigerians gathered to unpack the real cost of political participation under the Electoral Act 2026. Last Thursday, @eienigeria in partnership with @budgitng and @thecableng convened the first physical Thursday Talks for the year at Civic Hive, Yaba, bringing together young people across diverse sectors to reflect on what the new electoral framework means in practice. The conversation moved through structure as the new currency, gaps in civic knowledge, and the realities of participation and engagement, returning again and again to one truth that changing the rules does not automatically change access. What followed was an honest exchange that went beyond theory into the lived realities of political participation. By the end, one message lingered in the room: if young Nigerians are to shape the system, they cannot afford to only observe it. #ThursdayTalks #YouthInPolitics #GetInvolved