TheCable

BudgIT, a civic tech organisation, visited six communities in Lagos state to sensitise residents on the 2017 state budget and to seek their input in the 2018 budget.

At the meetings, the roles of elected public officials highlighted and citizens were encouraged to be actively involved in the budgeting formation process.

Residents were educated on their rights to demand government accountability for improved service.

Over 4,000 residents were reached in the communities, including Bariga, Shomolu, Mushin and Ikorodu.

“In the six communities visited, we observed that very few residents have minimal knowledge about the budget and the budget process as well as projects implementation which affects development in the communities. Lagosians pay taxes but ask too few questions on service delivery,” said Oluseun Onigbinde, BudgIT’s lead partner, said in a statement.

Onigbinde said residents told BudgIT team that most of their needs were not captured in the budget and that they also complained about the lack of access to information on the state budget.

According to him, the residents said the forum deepened their knowledge about the budget.

The BudgIT team encouraged the residents to pay their taxes and also demand the budget documents to enable them follow up on capital projects in their communities.