Barbara Bako, Abuja.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is introducing a digital platform for collecting fiscal data from the 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and 774 local government areas to strengthen economic planning and policymaking.
The initiative seeks to address delays and inconsistencies associated with the existing manual reporting system while improving the accuracy, validation and frequency of fiscal data submissions.
Director of the CBN Statistics Department, Dr Usman Moses Okpanachi, disclosed this at a stakeholders’ engagement on Sub-National Fiscal Statistics in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
He said the digitalisation programme would improve the flow of fiscal information from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and local governments, providing policymakers with more reliable data for economic decisions.
Okpanachi explained that comprehensive fiscal statistics were necessary for assessing government revenue, expenditure, borrowing requirements and other financial obligations.
He added that the information was also important in determining how government fiscal activities influence aggregate demand, liquidity, borrowing conditions and inflation.
According to him, the transition to a more data-dependent monetary policy framework and an explicit inflation-targeting regime makes timely and reliable fiscal information increasingly critical.
He identified logistical difficulties, delays in submissions, validation challenges and processing constraints as major weaknesses of the existing twice-yearly manual survey.
The new digital system, he said, would introduce standardised data entry, simplify submissions, strengthen validation and provide better monitoring and tracking of corrections.
However, Okpanachi cautioned that digital tools must be supported by proper record-keeping, reconciliation and professional judgement to guarantee the integrity of submitted information.
He called on state and local governments to ensure timely submission of returns and designate focal officers to coordinate the process and maintain continuity.
The Director said the CBN would continue to provide technical and operational assistance through its branches and Statistics Department.
The nationwide stakeholder engagement began on October 26, 2026, and is expected to cover the remaining states by December 4, while the FCT is scheduled for December 9 and 10.
The exercise includes practical training to enable fiscal officers to operate the digital questionnaire, comply with validation requirements and undertake submission and correction procedures.
As of November 6, 16 states and their local governments had participated in the exercise, with attendance reaching 100 per cent in almost all the states visited.
Officers who complete the training are expected to extend the knowledge to colleagues in their respective institutions and commence submitting fiscal returns through the platform.
The Statistics Department will compile the implementation outcomes into a national report.
The CBN said the initiative would ultimately improve fiscal information available to state and local governments for planning, budgeting and policy evaluation, while strengthening the data supporting monetary, financial and fiscal policy decisions.
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