The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has begun digitalising the Sub-National Fiscal Survey across the 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and 774 local government areas, in a move aimed at replacing largely manual reporting and improving the quality of fiscal data used for national policy decisions.
The initiative, led by the CBN’s Statistics Department, is designed to strengthen the flow of fiscal information from ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and local governments into evidence-based monetary, fiscal and economic policymaking.
Why it matters
Speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the Director of the Statistics Department, Dr Usman Moses Okpanachi, said reliable fiscal statistics were essential for assessing revenue performance, expenditure patterns, financing needs and fiscal pressures.
He said better data would also give policymakers a clearer view of public-sector activity and its implications for aggregate demand, liquidity, borrowing conditions and inflation.
The digitalisation comes as the CBN strengthens its forward-looking, data-dependent monetary policy framework and moves towards a more explicit inflation-targeting regime.
From manual returns to digital platform
The existing Sub-National Fiscal Survey is conducted twice yearly and has faced challenges around timeliness, logistics, validation and processing. The new digital system is expected to standardise data entry, improve validation, simplify submissions and make corrections more traceable.
It is also intended to support a shift towards more frequent, sustainable quarterly submission of fiscal returns.
Dr Okpanachi stressed that technology would complement, rather than replace, sound record-keeping, reconciliation and professional judgement. He urged states and local governments to prioritise timeliness, integrity and continuity, including prompt submissions and the appointment of designated focal officers.
Nationwide rollout
The nationwide engagement began on October 26, 2026, and is scheduled to cover the remaining states by December 4, while the FCT is slated for December 9 and 10.
As of November 6, 2026, 16 states and their local governments had been covered, with strong government support and attendance reaching 100 per cent in almost all states visited.
During the practical sessions, state and local government fiscal officers are being trained to use the digital questionnaire, understand validation requirements and practise submission and correction procedures.
Expected outcome
After the exercise, trained officers are expected to cascade the knowledge within their institutions and begin submitting returns through the digital platform, while the CBN Statistics Department consolidates the implementation outcomes into a national report.
The CBN says the initiative is part of its broader data architecture and transformation agenda, and is expected to improve fiscal data for state and local government planning, budgeting and policy evaluation, while providing more timely information for monetary, financial and fiscal policy decisions.
