Activist sues for gender responsive budgeting in Akwa Ibom
A civil society advocate and communications specialist in Akwa Ibom State, Lucy Eyo, has called on the state government to adopt gender-responsive budgeting in its fiscal planning. Eyo emphasized that such an approach would help meet the unique needs of women, girls, and other vulnerable groups, particularly within the health and education sectors.
Eyo made this request on Friday in Uyo during the launch of a project titled “Budgets as Policy: Advancing Gender Justice through Fiscal Analysis,” which is supported by the Nigerian Youth Futures Fund (NYFF). She expressed concern over the state’s budgetary practices, citing a review of the Akwa Ibom State budgets from 2023 to 2025 that revealed a trend of gender-blind fiscal planning. This, she argued, has negatively impacted women’s and girls’ access to essential healthcare and educational services.
In her remarks, Eyo illustrated the issue with specific financial data. For instance, she noted that in 2023, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare received an allocation of ₦4.16 billion, but only 36 percent, or approximately ₦1.5 billion, was effectively utilized. She pointed out that crucial interventions aimed at combatting gender-based violence (GBV), such as trauma centers, rape referral centers, and shelters, received minimal funding.
On the subject of education, Eyo highlighted that while there has been a nominal increase in education budgets over the years, targeted funding for programs specifically for girls is lacking. She reported that at the secondary school level, approximately 14,200 of the 15,200 out-of-school children are girls, a situation that current budget allocations do not adequately address.
Eyo further noted that the revised budget for 2025, totaling ₦1.65 trillion, emphasizes infrastructure and capital expenditures but lacks publicly disaggregated gender markers in health and education allocations, hindering the assessment of equitable benefits for women and girls.
These observations underscore the necessity for a comprehensive gender-responsive budget analysis, which Eyo believes would foster accountability and support advocacy efforts.
Regarding the new project, Eyo stated that the analysis will focus on examining sectoral allocations and expenditure priorities, tracking spending trends, identifying funding gaps in critical social sectors, and evaluating how well gender considerations are integrated into the state’s budgeting processes.
Key areas of focus will include women’s empowerment, education, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and healthcare. Eyo indicated that the findings from this analysis would be shared with government officials, civil society organizations, media professionals, and other stakeholders to facilitate informed discussions on public financial management.
