HDI commences a new project Titled HDI LG BUDGET WATCH PROJECT

With a population of over 150 million, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. While Nigeria is one of the richest countries in terms of human, material and natural resources, it is paradoxically one of the poorest in the world with at least 70 percent of the population in poverty. This high level of poverty despite the country’s immense resources has been severally attributed to many years of military dictatorship and instability in government, large scale corruption, poor macro-economic management and inadequate infrastructure amongst other factors, extenuated by lack of openness and transparency in the machinery of government particularly in the budgetary processes. Thus, there is dire need for improvement in budget transparency and accountability and the need for appropriate disclosure of the use of public resources to the citizenry.

This project is designed to strengthen accountability and governance at the local government area (LGA) level which is the closest to the people and the most critical level through which development may be accelerated and poverty alleviated. The project will introduce openness and publicity to LGA administration by publicizing at the local level budgetary allocations and monitoring its use. The project will constitute a monitoring mechanism for how money is received and spent at LGA level and make key stakeholders at the LG more sensitive to how political leaders apply common resource by helping them organize effectively. The project will cover 12 LGAs in 6 states drawn from each of the six geo political zones in the country:

a. North Central – Kwara State (Offa and Ilorin East LGAs)

b. North East - Gombe State (Gombe and Akko LGAs)

c. North West - Kano State (Nasarrawa and Kano Municipal LGAs)

d. South East - Enugu State (Nsukka and Nkannu West LGAs)

e. South West - Lagos State (Mainland and Eti Osa LGAs)

f. South-South - Delta State (Warri South and Ughelli North LGAs)

The project will reduce corruption and poverty, support disadvantaged people, pressure the Executive to design programmes that meet the basic needs of local people, improve the quality of local people’s lives and reinforce development capacity and strengthen better governance for people at LGA level. The project will last for 24 months