Nigeria, Sept. 12 -- Akwa Ibom and Rivers states have been excluded from a major assessment of how Nigerian states managed the financial gains of the post-subsidy era because they failed to publish complete budget implementation records, limiting independent assessment of billions of naira in public funds.

The two oil-producing states were omitted from BudgIT's latest report, "Nigeria's Reforms: What Has Changed Across Nigeria's States? An Analysis of State Finances in the Post-Subsidy Years," which examined changes in states' revenues and expenditure priorities between 2022 and 2025.

The report assessed revenue growth, personnel costs, overheads, capital expenditure and spending on critical sectors including education, health, infrastr...