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Twenty-three Nigerian states plan to spend ₦132.45 billion ($97.15 million) to fund their know-how ministries and digital ambitions in 2026, in keeping with price range paperwork sourced from Budgit’s Open States, a digital platform that publishes price range studies for all 36 Nigerian states.
That is practically 4 occasions the ₦33.59 billion ($24.64 million) they really spent in 2025. Final yr, these states budgeted ₦80.21 billion ($58.83 million) for know-how initiatives and achieved an execution charge of simply 41.88%.
Regardless of the leap in headline allocation, know-how ministries accounted for simply 0.25% of complete state expenditure in 2025. In 2026, it’s projected to rise to solely 0.53%, nonetheless lower than one naira out of each ₦100 spent.
The states embody Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Lagos, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, and Yobe.
Of Nigeria’s 36 states, 23 maintained devoted know-how or digital economic system budgets in 2026. A number of states, together with Nasarawa, Borno, and Kwara, lack standalone know-how ministries, whereas others, comparable to Niger, Katsina, and Ogun, didn’t allocate particular funding to tech-focused companies.
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Supply: Budgit’s Open States / TechCabal Information
The widening hole between what states promise and what they ship raises questions on how severe they’re about constructing a digital economic system. States management right-of-way approvals, fibre deployment, and native startup ecosystems.
But persistent underspending suggests know-how budgets perform extra as coverage indicators than operational commitments.
Reaching common digital connectivity, widespread monetary inclusion, and better value-added manufacturing might value about $1,231 per particular person yearly, in keeping with the United Nations Commerce and Growth.
Huge tech ambitions, skinny execution
Even after underspending in 2025, the 23 states elevated their collective know-how allocation by 65.13%.
Throughout 23 states, the ₦132.45 billion allocation for 2026 might barely be sufficient to fund large-scale fibre deployment or statewide digital infrastructure.
The Nigerian Communications Fee (NCC), the nation’s telecoms regulator, in 2021 warned that insufficient public funding from states stays a significant barrier to ICT growth, noting that successive governments have struggled to finance digital infrastructure by nationwide and state budgets.
In the meantime, most states proceed to prioritise roads, bridges, and different politically seen capital tasks. Training and well being devour a lot of what stays. Know-how, regardless of being the spine of contemporary public service supply, continues to obtain comparatively symbolic allocations.
States’ profile
Throughout the nation, digital ambition is seen.
In Lagos State, residence to greater than 900 startups, the federal government operates a ₦1 billion ($733,460) innovation fund by the Lagos State Science Analysis and Innovation Council (LASRIC). The state is laying over 6,000 km of metro fibre to shut connectivity gaps and is advancing an innovation invoice that would earmark between 1.5% and a pair of% of annual capital expenditure for innovation.
Ogun State has invested in infrastructure such because the Ogun Tech Hub to advertise digital literacy and entrepreneurship. In Ekiti State, the Ekiti Information Zone, backed by an $80 million funding from the African Growth Financial institution, goals to place the state as a regional hub for the data economic system.
Enugu State is pursuing know-how partnerships with the non-public sector. Edo State just lately launched a knowledge centre as a part of efforts to construct a contemporary digital economic system. In 2025, Kwara State opened an innovation hub in Ilorin to nurture native tech expertise. In Anambra State, the ICT company is exploring synthetic intelligence instruments to deal with payroll fraud and enhance service supply.
These initiatives mirror aspiration. However in lots of circumstances, funding stays skinny relative to ambition.
Income realities
Many Nigerian states rely closely on month-to-month allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) and wrestle to generate enough inner income. States with weaker IGR bases usually wrestle with digital transformation due to the heavy upfront capital wanted.
Resulting from these income constraints, tech budgets are often symbolic and indicators of modernity, somewhat than clear commitments of supply. States, just like the federal authorities, often depend on non-public sector partnerships and donor funding to advance digital tasks.
There’s additionally the political logic to know-how allocations. Digital economic system initiatives are enticing coverage indicators. Governors announce startup hubs or good metropolis tasks to attain political factors. In some circumstances, commissioners are appointed based mostly on political affiliations somewhat than sectoral competence.
For a lot of states, know-how allocations are additionally skewed towards {hardware} procurement and consultancy contracts as a substitute of long-term infrastructure investments. With out detailed price range breakdowns, it’s tough to evaluate whether or not the ₦132.45 billion ($97.15 million) earmarked for 2026 will translate into sturdy digital public infrastructure or short-cycle spending.
22.84% of the authorised tech price range for 2026 is designated for recurrent expenditure, comparable to fee of salaries and administrative prices.
Nigeria has bold digital economic system targets. Broadband growth, startup progress, e-governance methods, and digital public infrastructure all rely upon coordinated funding throughout federal and state ranges.
However at lower than 1% of complete expenditure, most states aren’t funding digital transformation at a scale that matches the dimensions of their ambitions.
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