Despite withholding spending details, Eno says he’ll account for Akwa Ibom’s N2.943 trillion revenue

Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has declared that he is ready to give an account of his stewardship of the state “any day and any time”, even as his administration continues to withhold detailed information on how at least N2.943 trillion it has received since assuming office was spent.

Mr Eno made the declaration on Tuesday, 1 September, during the state government’s monthly prayer meeting, where he praised President Bola Tinubu for what he described as increased funding to state governments.

“Do not let anyone deceive you. This president has done well. I can tell you. I have the figures,” Mr Eno said.

“If we have succeeded at all, have you seen all these projects? It is because there is funding for it. This president has released money. Any governor that tells you that his state does not have money, I don’t know-oo. But my state has money.”

The governor said his administration had documentation to justify its spending and was prepared to make the records available.

“When I hear people say, ‘ What have you done with our money? These 39 projects are their money. I am prepared to give an account of my stewardship in this state at any time and on any day. I am a very detailed person. Any time. Any day, we will give an account of our stewardship,” he said.

But the governor’s assertion comes against the backdrop of repeated findings by PREMIUM TIMES and BudgIT Foundation that the state’s published fiscal records do not contain enough information for citizens to independently establish how substantial portions of the money received by the government have been spent.

N2.943 trillion received

A PREMIUM TIMES analysis of Akwa Ibom’s audited financial statements, budget performance reports and revenue records found that Mr Eno’s administration had received at least N2.934 trillion between May 2023 and June 2026.

This newspaper earlier reported that Mr Eno’s administration surpassed the revenue received by the previous administration in only 32 months.

Our February report showed that the N2.53 trillion received by the Eno administration between May 2023 and December 2025 exceeded the revenue the state received during the eight-year administration of former Governor Udom Emmanuel, plus the final four months of the administration of former Governor Godswill Akpabio.

Where is the money?

Despite the huge revenue inflow, the state government’s financial reports have become less detailed under Mr Eno’s administration.

PREMIUM TIMES reported in July that the government’s audited financial statements for 2023, 2024 and 2025 did not contain detailed capital expenditure schedules.

Similarly, the state’s budget performance reports from the first quarter of 2025 through the second quarter of 2026 omitted detailed capital expenditure information.

Before 2025, the state’s quarterly budget implementation reports contained detailed information that enabled citizens to compare approved projects with actual spending.

The government subsequently began publishing much shorter reports, making it difficult to establish revenue sources, the amount spent on individual projects, the implementing ministries and agencies, and the extent to which budgeted projects had been executed.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the state’s second-quarter 2026 report has now attracted criticism from BudgIT.

In its latest Half-Year BIR Status and Comparative Insights 2026/2025, BudgIT acknowledged that Akwa Ibom had published its Q2 budget implementation report but said the document contained “significant data gaps” that limited public scrutiny of government spending.

“Transparency requires disclosure—not just publication,” BudgIT said.

The organisation said Akwa Ibom’s report did not provide sufficient information to show where all the money the state government received went.

BudgIT also said it had formally raised the concerns with the state government but received no response.

The findings are consistent with PREMIUM TIMES’ January investigation, which reported that Akwa Ibom had slipped deeper into fiscal secrecy under Mr Eno.

This newspaper also reported that the state’s Fiscal Responsibility Law requires the government to conduct its financial affairs transparently and ensure full and timely disclosure and wide publication of transactions involving public revenue and expenditure. PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Eno had promised in his ARISE Manifesto that his administration would be transparent and accountable in compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Law of the State

Governor’s claim on previous governments

At the prayer meeting, Mr Eno also attributed the pace of development under his administration to what he described as President Tinubu’s willingness to release funds to governors.

He said previous governments did not release money to states in the same manner.

“We are not owing anybody any money. We are ensuring that legacy projects of past administrations are completed because it benefits our people,” he said.

“Previous governments didn’t use to release money. Sometimes, I don’t know. But the president has released money. He has allowed state governors to take charge of their state. When this man leaves, that is when we will know.”

The governor did not provide figures or documentary evidence to substantiate his assertion that previous federal administrations did not release funds to state governments.

Available fiscal records reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES, however, show that revenue shared across the three tiers of government under past administrations was relatively lower due to fuel subsidy payments and a lower exchange rate. Also, Akwa Ibom received substantial allocations under previous administrations, although the amounts were considerably lower than the revenue recorded during Mr Eno’s tenure.

The increase in revenue under Mr Eno has heightened rather than diminished the need for detailed disclosure.

‘Projects are their money’

Mr Eno said the projects being executed by his administration were evidence of how public funds were being used.

“These 39 projects is their money,” he said, referring to projects lined up for inauguration in celebration of the state’s 39 anniversary.

He said the documents required to account for the spending were being compiled.

“We have documentation. People who are compiling are compiling,” he said.

But having documentation and publishing it are two different stages of public accountability.

BudgIT’s latest assessment makes that distinction precisely, stating that the mere publication of a budget implementation report does not constitute transparency if citizens cannot use the information to track public funds.

The organisation found that 34 of Nigeria’s 36 states had published their second-quarter 2026 budget implementation reports. Akwa Ibom was criticised for publishing a report that lacked sufficient detail for meaningful scrutiny.

This distinction stands out because Mr Eno has repeatedly pointed to government projects as evidence of how public money has been utilised.

At his third-anniversary media briefing in May, when asked how his administration had spent the more than N2.53 trillion it had received at the time, the governor pointed to infrastructure, schools, model health centres and his administration’s “85 audacious projects”.

He also referred journalists to the state’s audited accounts and budget performance reports.

However, PREMIUM TIMES’ subsequent review found that those documents did not provide the detailed capital expenditure schedules required to support the government’s independent operations.

Accountability beyond rhetoric

Mr Eno’s latest declaration that he is prepared to account for the state’s resources raises an accountability question: when will the government publish the records that would allow citizens to verify that account independently?

The state government has yet to publicly explain why the level of fiscal disclosure that previously allowed citizens to track projects and spending has been discontinued. PREMIUM TIMES several times have contacted the commissioners for finance and information over the omissions, but received no substantive response.

Mr Eno said his administration had “put in everything” to serve Akwa Ibom and that he was ready to give an account of his stewardship.

But for citizens seeking an account of N2.943 trillion in public revenue, the central issue is not whether the governor says he is ready to account but whether the underlying financial records are sufficiently detailed, accessible and independently verifiable for the public to see how the money was received, where it went, what each project cost and who received the payments.