The Implementation of Budget Reform and the Level of Compliance among the Public Sector Entities in Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the implementation of budget reform and the level of compliance in Nigeria. Purposive Sampling Technique was employed to select the two sectors – Ministry of Education and Health – where the adoption and implementation of the budget reform were popular. The population of the study comprised fifty (50) MDAs of the two ministries. Primary data were sourced from five hundred (500) respondents through structured questionnaire administered to the selected Ministries, Departments and Agencies. Data were analyzed using the Factor analysis technique. The results showed that only 55% of the MDAs within the sample size exhibited high compliance level with the budget reform while 45% demonstrated low compliance with the budget reform mandate. The summary of the overall results, therefore, revealed that there was no full compliance with the budget reforms’ directives among the MDAs during the research period. The study concludes that only continuous and critical re-assessments of the budget reform and its periodic re-appraisals by the central authorities in Nigeria can guarantee full compliance and thorough implementation in order to achieve desired results of the reforms in the public sector entities in Nigeria. The study, therefore, recommends that a central monitoring unit be created jointly by the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the federation to ensure strict compliance, which will in turn enhance transparency and accountability in the public sector entities in Nigeria.