… Lagos, Oyo, Ogun Under Spotlight Over Use of Trillions
Daud Olatunji
A PLATFORM TIMES investigation has uncovered that three South-West governors — Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), and Dapo Abiodun (Ogun) — received a staggering ₦2.31 trillion in federal allocations between May 2019 and April 2025, raising fresh questions about fiscal transparency, budget performance, and development impact across the three states.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that the data obtained from BudgIT, a civic tech organisation focused on public finance transparency, showed that Governor Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State received the lion’s share with ₦1.43 trillion, followed by Governor Makinde of Oyo State who got ₦539.04 billion, and Governor Abiodun of Ogun State, whose administration collected ₦335.81 billion within the six-year period.
… LAGOS Got ₦1.43 Trillion
Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial capital, led the pack with allocations steadily rising each year.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the state received ₦79.62 billion in the last eight months of 2019, ₦131.39 billion in 2020, ₦145.78 billion in 2021, and ₦194.70 billion in 2022.
It was further observed that the figures rose again in 2023 with ₦208.87 billion and skyrocketed in 2024 to ₦474.68 billion, the highest single-year allocation recorded.
In the first quarter of 2025 alone, Lagos had already received ₦123.72 billion.
The highest monthly disbursement — ₦45.15 billion — was made in February 2025, while the lowest was ₦8.69 billion in March 2021.
… OYO Got ₦539.04 Billion
Oyo State, under Governor Makinde, received its highest allocation in 2024 with ₦152.94 billion, compared to ₦36.27 billion in 2019.
Other allocations include ₦54.13 billion (2020), ₦66.81 billion (2021), ₦69.87 billion (2022), ₦97.67 billion (2023), and ₦61.36 billion in the first four months of 2025.
The rise in revenue has triggered intense debate in policy circles, with many demanding transparency in how these funds have impacted the state’s infrastructure, healthcare, education, and economic development.
… OGUN Got ₦335.81 Billion
Governor Dapo Abiodun’s Ogun State received the least among the trio but still collected a significant ₦335.81 billion in six years.
The allocation breakdown includes ₦25.84 billion (2019), ₦40.66 billion (2020), ₦47.70 billion (2021), ₦53.63 billion (2022), ₦79.28 billion (2023), ₦104.04 billion (2024), and ₦35.66 billion in the first four months of 2025.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that the highest monthly allocation of ₦11.07 billion was received in August 2024, while the lowest, ₦2.42 billion, came during the pandemic-hit March 2020.
PLATFORM TIMES further reports that despite the massive inflows, civil society organisations and policy analysts are raising red flags over the disconnect between revenue and results.
“This level of allocation demands commensurate development,” said Ayodeji Folarin, a public finance expert, who called for open budgeting, performance audits, and greater citizen inclusion in governance.
In Oyo, Dr. Azeez Adeyemi, a policy analyst based in Ibadan, stressed: “Over half a trillion naira has entered Oyo’s account.
“Citizens deserve to know what this money has achieved — in roads, education, hospitals, and job creation.”
… Analysts Demand Transparency Reports
All three governors — Sanwo-Olu, Makinde, and Abiodun — are being pressed to publish detailed annual budget performance reports, conduct external audits, and introduce community-level monitoring frameworks.
“There’s no excuse for underdevelopment with this scale of funding,” a representative of a civil society coalition in Lagos said. “We need to see the books — not just hear the promises.”
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