[Full List] 24 States, Including Delta, Ekiti, Abia, and Niger, Unable to Pay Salaries Without Federal Allocation

An analysis of the approved budgets for the 2024 fiscal year reveals that 24 out of Nigeria’s 36 states are unable to cover their workers’ salaries solely from internally generated revenue (IGR), relying instead on Federal Government allocations or resorting to borrowing from financial institutions.

The budgets approved by 35 states are publicly available on Open States, a platform affiliated with BudgIT designed to consolidate government budget data. However, the budget for Rivers State remains inaccessible on the platform.

Only 11 states—Lagos, Kano, Anambra, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Osun, Ogun, Kaduna, Zamfara, and Kwara—demonstrate the ability to pay salaries without depending on federal allocations, thanks to their robust internal revenue streams.

The inability of the remaining 24 states to finance salaries solely from IGR raises concerns about workforce productivity and the efficiency of state governments in revenue generation.

Financial statements reveal that state governments resorted to borrowing approximately N46.17 billion from Access Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank, and Zenith Bank Plc to fund salary payments between January and June 2023. Access Bank accounted for the highest borrowings at N42.97 billion during the six-month period, followed by Zenith Bank at N1.78 billion and Fidelity Bank at N1.42 billion.

The states affected by this financial challenge include Katsina, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Cross River, Sokoto, Delta, Bauchi, Ondo, Bayelsa, Borno, Oyo, Gombe, Yobe, Nasarawa, Taraba, Kogi, Akwa Ibom, Jigawa, Niger, Benue, Adamawa, Abia, Kebbi, and Plateau.

This revelation underscores the pressing need for state governments to prioritize revenue generation strategies and fiscal discipline to ensure financial sustainability and the effective delivery of public services.