States Pull Down Procurement Portals, Concealing Multi-Billion Naira Project Details

An investigation conducted by SaharaReporters has brought to light that numerous state governments across Nigeria have either deactivated or failed to maintain their Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) portals. This action effectively blocks Nigerian citizens from overseeing public projects valued at billions of naira, thereby undermining transparency.

This development comes despite Nigeria receiving a substantial $750 million in funding from the World Bank. The funds, channeled through the Federal Ministry of Finance, were allocated under the States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme. This initiative, approved in June 2018 and concluded in April 2024, aimed to bolster fiscal transparency, accountability, and sustainability within participating states.

The global body, Open Contracting Partnership, had previously acknowledged the progress made by states through their collaboration with the World Bank. A publication on their website noted, “Since 2018, Nigeria’s 36 state governments have been offered support to open up their procurement data, implement e-procurement systems, and improve their procurement laws through the States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SFTAS) project, an initiative of the World Bank in partnership with state governors through the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF).”

However, since the conclusion of the funding period, many state administrations have either shut down their OCDS portals or neglected their maintenance. This prevents the public from accessing crucial information regarding contract awards, details of winning bidders, contract values, and the entire procurement process.

Examples of this issue abound: the Oyo State Open Contracting Portal (https://publicprocurement.oyostate.gov.ng/category/news/) displayed an "Error establishing a database connection" upon inspection. Similarly, the Ondo State Bureau of Public Procurement’s OCDS portal was found to be non-functional. While Kwara State maintains a Bureau of Public Procurement website (https://kwppa.kwarastate.gov.ng/ocds-portal/awarded-contracts), its OCDS portal mostly offers only a landing page, rendering it largely ineffective. Imo State's OCDS portal is also poorly functioning, and Nasarawa State's portal has not seen updates since approximately 2022. Both the Plateau State OCDS website (https://plateaustateocds.cloudware.ng/pages/projects.php?id=430) and the Edo State Open Contracting Portal were inaccessible during the report's review.

This lack of transparency is particularly concerning given that states annually commit billions of naira to capital projects. OCDS portals were established to provide citizens with data on companies awarded government contracts, the amounts disbursed, and the specifics of the procurement procedures. For instance, Oyo State allocated N394 billion to capital projects in the 2025 fiscal year. In the same year, Ondo State spent N122 billion on capital expenditure, yet its procurement records remain inaccessible, hindering public scrutiny. Kwara State also committed N162 billion to capital expenditure in 2025.

SaharaReporters has historically utilized these OCDS portals to uncover alleged governmental irregularities and questionable procurement practices. A previous review of Ebonyi State's Open Contracting Portal, for example, revealed that a N1.4 billion contract was awarded to Euslar Consultancy Services for "procurement of lab equipment for basic Virology research Lab Set Up" when the company was less than a month old. The tender process began on November 6, 2025, but Euslar Consultancy Services was only registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on November 17, 2025, eleven days after the tender had commenced. The company secured the contract on December 16, 2025, less than a month after its registration.

These findings spark renewed apprehension regarding the commitment of several state governments to transparency and accountability in managing public funds, despite consistent pledges to uphold open governance and ensure public access to procurement information.