The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, is set to overhaul sub-national fiscal data collection through a digital reporting platform covering all 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and 774 local government areas.
The initiative is aimed at replacing the largely manual process of collecting fiscal information with a digital system that will improve the speed, accuracy, consistency and reliability of data used in economic policymaking.
A major component of the reform is the transition from twice-yearly submissions to quarterly reporting, which will give monetary and fiscal authorities more regular access to information on government revenue, expenditure, borrowing requirements and other public-sector financial activities.
Speaking at a sub-national fiscal statistics stakeholders’ engagement in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the Director of the CBN Statistics Department, Dr Usman Moses Okpanachi, said the digitalisation programme would strengthen the connection between fiscal transactions at Ministries, Departments and Agencies, local governments and evidence-based policymaking.
He described reliable fiscal statistics as essential for assessing government revenue performance, expenditure patterns, financing needs and emerging fiscal pressures.
According to him, the information would also help policymakers understand how public-sector activities affect aggregate demand, liquidity, borrowing conditions and inflation.
Okpanachi said the need for the reform had become more urgent as the CBN strengthened its forward-looking, data-dependent monetary policy framework and moved towards a more explicit inflation-targeting regime.
He identified delays, logistical difficulties, data validation challenges and processing constraints as some of the major weaknesses of the existing manual reporting system.
The new platform is expected to standardise data entry, simplify submissions, improve validation procedures and introduce better monitoring mechanisms, including traceable corrections.
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However, the CBN director cautioned that technology alone would not guarantee reliable fiscal information, stressing the importance of proper record-keeping, reconciliation and professional judgement.
He urged state and local government authorities to appoint designated focal officers, ensure timely submissions and maintain proper validation procedures to guarantee continuity and data accuracy.
The Bank said the programme’s success would be measured through improved completeness and consistency of returns, faster submissions, stronger validation processes and better-quality fiscal information for policy decisions.
16 States Already Covered:
The nationwide stakeholder engagement began on October 26, 2026, and is scheduled to continue across the remaining states until December 4. The exercise in the FCT is scheduled for December 9 and 10.
As of November 6, 16 states and their local governments had participated, with attendance reaching 100 per cent in almost all the states visited, according to the CBN.
The practical sessions are designed to familiarise state and local government fiscal officers with the digital questionnaire, validation requirements, submission procedures and mechanisms for correcting reported information.
Following the training, participating officers are expected to share the knowledge with other personnel in their respective institutions and begin submitting fiscal information through the platform.
The CBN Statistics Department will subsequently consolidate the implementation outcomes into a national report.
Beyond strengthening the Bank’s statistical capacity, the initiative is expected to improve fiscal planning and budget evaluation at the sub-national level.
More frequent and dependable information on state and local government finances could also give policymakers a clearer picture of public-sector borrowing, spending patterns and the country’s broader fiscal environment.
With sub-national governments playing significant roles in public spending and service delivery, the transition to digital and more frequent fiscal reporting could provide a stronger information base for assessing Nigeria’s overall economic position.
Centuryherald
