The 2016 Appropriation Law i.e budget of Rivers State was passed in a day. That of 2017 in a day (some reports even say 3 hours). That of 2018 in 12 days or thereabouts - this is a very significant improvement. As of this moment, no one outside the government has seen these budgets. I am willing to wager that most officials of the government have not even seen the budget themselves. Well, in truth, the constitution does not prescribe a time frame within which an Appropriation Bill should be passed save to say the process cannot delay beyond the end of June of a new financial year. It does not also say that a budget should be published in any particular manner. However, passing these bills in 24 hours or less (save for the most recent 2018 appropriation bill) does not afford all the critical stakeholders ample opportunity to participate in the budgetary process. Similarly, the failure of the government to publish the budget makes it impossible for the citizens to hold the government to account in the way their resources are used. This is highly unfortunate. Nonetheless, it is beside the point.

The burning issue is that in public discourses officials of the state government, in an attempt to please their appointer have, to my utter bewilderment, confirmed that they do not know or cannot remember their ministry, department, agency or commission's budget. The one that appears to have broken the camel's back happened last Saturday - 02:06:2018 - when the Director, Information and Voter Education of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission featured on Rhythm 93.7 FM's Viewpoint. In the course of the interview, the lady Director was asked how much it will cost the Commission to conduct the 16:06:2018 local government elections. In a nutshell, the presenter and callers were asked to make it formal by applying; the officer either could not remember the amount or refused to say it. This was a bit awkward: we could excuse core political appointees but for a so called independent commission to do so is a new low. Of course, this is a ruse, deeply ludicrous and says only one thing. The Rivers State Government has something to hide! And this is without any equivocation. For Pete's sake, a state's budget is a law! One does not need to apply through his legislator or to any official for a law that was duly passed by the House of Assembly. Like all other laws, the government is ordinarily supposed to make it available to the citizens.

It is, indeed, sad - if not tragically stupid - that these people are trying to pull the wool over the eyes of very enlightened citizens. Probably they are not aware, Mr. Nyesom Ezenwo Wike as a gubernatorial candidate in a live debate organised by the AIM Group, owners of Nigeria Info 92.3 FM, in 2014 PROMISED to make his government's budget available to the public within TWO (2) weeks after passage. Today that same man has become a Governor and he is trying to be unnecessarily legalistic by asking citizens to apply to see their own budget and some unscrupulous people are trying to rationalise the issue. This is a joke taken too far. It is a senseless scandal. I am traumatised!

By Listic1; @ODNEsq

NO state in Nigeria should operate Opaque finances...

three:
NO state in Nigeria should operate Opaque finances...

Correct.