The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has commenced the digitalisation of its Sub-National Fiscal Survey across the 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and 774 Local Government Areas to improve the quality, accuracy and timeliness of fiscal data for economic policymaking.
The initiative, being implemented through the CBN’s Statistics Department, is designed to replace the largely manual reporting system with a digital platform that will facilitate data collection, validation, monitoring and submission.
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 initiative was aimed at strengthening the flow of fiscal information from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and local governments to policymakers.
Okpanachi explained that reliable fiscal statistics were essential for effective economic management, particularly in assessing government revenue, expenditure patterns, financing requirements and emerging fiscal pressures.
He noted that accurate information on public-sector activities would also help policymakers understand their implications for aggregate demand, liquidity, borrowing conditions and inflation.
According to him, the digitalisation exercise has become necessary as the CBN strengthens its forward-looking, data-dependent monetary policy framework and moves towards a more explicit inflation-targeting regime.
He identified delays, logistical difficulties, validation challenges and lengthy processing periods as some of the limitations associated with the existing twice-yearly manual survey.
The new digital platform, he said, would address these challenges through standardised data entry, improved validation processes, simplified submissions, better monitoring and traceable corrections.
It would also support the transition from the existing twice-yearly reporting arrangement to more frequent and sustainable quarterly submissions by states and local governments.
Okpanachi, however, stressed that technology alone would not guarantee reliable fiscal statistics, noting that proper record-keeping, reconciliation and professional judgement remained essential to the process.
He urged state and local government authorities to ensure prompt submission and proper validation of returns, while appointing designated focal officers to maintain institutional continuity.
He said the success of the initiative would be measured by improvements in the completeness and consistency of returns, faster submissions, stronger validation processes and the availability of better fiscal information for decision-making.
The CBN director assured participating governments of the bank’s continued technical and operational support through its branches and Statistics Department.
The nationwide stakeholder engagement commenced 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.
As of November 6, 2026, the exercise had covered 16 states and their local governments, with the CBN reporting strong government support and attendance reaching 100 per cent in almost all the states visited.
The practical sessions are designed to equip state and local government fiscal officers with the skills required to operate the digital questionnaire, understand validation requirements and carry out submission and correction procedures.
Following the training, participating officers are expected to transfer the knowledge acquired to other personnel within their institutions and commence submitting fiscal returns through the digital platform.
The Statistics Department will subsequently consolidate the implementation outcomes into a national report.
The initiative forms part of the CBN’s broader data architecture and transformation agenda, with expected benefits for fiscal planning, budgeting and policy evaluation at the sub-national level.
It is also expected to provide more timely and reliable information to support monetary, financial and fiscal policy decisions, strengthening the evidence base for economic management in Nigeria.
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