Federal Government Urges States to Align 2027 Budgets

The Federal Government has called on states to enhance their budget planning and execution as they prepare for their 2027 budgets. Dr Deborah Odoh, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, stated that credible budgets must align with government priorities and planned activities.

This announcement was made during a three-day technical capacity building workshop on Disbursement Linked Indicator (DLI) 2 of the Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity Governance Programme (HOPE-GOV) in Abuja. Odoh emphasized the importance of linking planning to budgeting to optimize public resource use.

The workshop aimed to help state teams review their operational plans and budget documents, identify gaps, and reconcile planned activities with available resources. Dr Chinekwu Oreh, representing the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, indicated that states should base their budgets for basic education and primary healthcare on their annual consolidated work plans.

Dr Assad Hassan, the National Coordinator of the HOPE-GOV Programme, noted that merely increasing expenditure would not improve public services without better planning and accountability systems.