By: Mandy Park
At least 26 state governments could not generate enough internal revenue to cover their personnel costs in 2025, as they continue to depend on allocations from the Federation Account despite a significant improvement in their finances.
An analysis by The PUNCH showed that only eight of the 34 states covered by a new BudgIT report generated Internally Generated Revenue higher than their personnel expenditure during the year. The eight states were Lagos, Enugu, Ogun, Delta, Kaduna, Kwara, Abia and Anambra.
The remaining 26 states generated about N1.16tn internally but spent approximately N1.91tn on personnel, leaving a gap of about N747bn between their combined IGR and wage-related expenditure.
The findings are contained in BudgIT’s 2026 report titled ‘Nigeria’s Economic Reforms: What Has Changed Across Nigeria’s States? An Analysis of State Finances in the Post-Subsidy Years’.
