How State Governments Shut Procurement Portals, Denied Nigerians Access To Monitor Multi-Billion Naira Projects

Before many of the portals became inaccessible, Nigeria received $750million in funding through the Federal Ministry of Finance.

A SaharaReporters' review of the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) portals operated by state governments across Nigeria has shown that many states have shut down or allowed their open contracting portals to become non-functional, denying Nigerians access to transparency on public projects worth billions of naira.

Before many of the portals became inaccessible, Nigeria received $750million in funding through the Federal Ministry of Finance.

The World Bank funding came under the States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme, which was designed to strengthen fiscal transparency, accountability, and sustainability in participating states.

Details on the World Bank's website show that the funding was approved in June 2018, with the project scheduled to end in April 2024.