New project to scrutinise Akwa Ibom budgets for gender inequality

A new youth-led initiative will analyse Akwa Ibom State’s budgets over three fiscal years to determine whether public spending adequately addresses the needs of women, girls and vulnerable groups, in the face of persistent concerns over the state’s fiscal transparency.

The project, Budget as Policy: Advancing Gender Justice through Fiscal Analysis, will examine allocations and expenditure in health, education, water, sanitation and hygiene, and women’s economic empowerment.

It is being implemented by Lucy Eyo, a civil society advocate and development communication specialist, with support from the Nigerian Youth Futures Fund.

According to a statement announcing the initiative, the analysis will assess spending trends, identify funding gaps in critical social sectors and determine the extent to which gender considerations are reflected in the state’s budgetary decisions.

The findings are expected to inform engagement between civil society organisations, the media and government stakeholders on how public resources are allocated and spent.

“Budgets show a government’s real priorities,” Ms Eyo said.

“This project will show where public money is going, where the gaps are, and what must change so that women, girls and communities benefit fairly from public spending.”

The project was launched on 16 October at an inception meeting attended by civil society representatives and media practitioners expected to support its implementation. Participants were briefed on its objectives, planned activities and expected outcomes and expressed their willingness to support the initiative.

Government budgets determine whether health facilities receive adequate funding, schools have access to safe water and sanitation, and programmes designed to improve women’s economic opportunities and protect vulnerable groups receive the resources needed to function.

The initiative comes at a time of questions about the transparency of Akwa Ibom’s public finances under Governor Umo Eno.

PREMIUM TIMES reported in July that the state government had received at least N2.934 trillion in public revenue between May 2023 and June 2026, but its published financial records lacked detailed capital expenditure schedules needed to independently track spending on projects and programmes.

The newspaper also reported in September that the state’s second-quarter 2026 budget implementation report provided insufficient details for citizens to see how public funds had been spent.

These gaps in fiscal disclosure complicate efforts to assess whether approved allocations translate into services and infrastructure for residents, including women and children who depend heavily on publicly funded health, education, water and sanitation services.

PREMIUM TIMES has also reported that Akwa Ibom allocated N61.61 billion, representing 3.73 per cent of its N1.65 trillion budget, to education in 2025. The absence of a publicly available, comprehensive budget performance report for that year made it difficult to assess the extent to which the allocation was implemented.

The new initiative will examine the state’s budgets over three fiscal years of 2024 through 2026.

Its findings are expected to provide civil society groups and journalists with evidence to question spending priorities, advocate more equitable resource allocation and press for improved accountability in the delivery of essential public services.

The project’s stated objectives include strengthening gender-responsive planning, budgeting and expenditure in the social sector and providing a stronger evidence base for engagement with the state government.

However, the initiative’s eventual impact will depend partly on the availability of sufficiently detailed public financial records and the willingness of government institutions to respond to evidence-based recommendations.