ThisAbility Budget

Participation of persons with disabilities in the budget process is threatening and frightening, as they are often not considered in the process, especially women and young persons with disabilities. It is a well-established fact that every effective policy requires an inclusive and participatory budget to function optimally and efficiently. For every accessible and affordable education, healthcare, social protection, sports, agriculture, and empowerment program to be disability-friendly, budgeting must be inclusive and participatory. However, participation of persons with disabilities in the budget cycle has been very limited due to non-inclusion, capacity gap, limited awareness and lack of political will. This has led to a decrease in the budget performance as it relates to persons with disabilities.

According to the World Bank and World Health Organization’s (WHO) data on disability (2011), 15% of the world’s population has a disability. Using this disability prevalence rate, it is estimated that there are about 35 million PWDs in Nigeria. However, a lack of inclusive and participatory budgeting has grossly denied 15% of this same population, according to a UNICEF report, the privilege to live an independent and sustainable life. Also, according to Article 4 Section (1a) of the UNCRPD which states that state parties are to adopt all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the present Convention ditto to the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 showed that full implementation of the Act and State Disability Laws cannot be achieved without inclusive and participatory budgeting.

It is worth noting that the limited awareness and knowledge on the part of persons with disabilities around the budget process has been the bane of the full implementation of disability laws. Most persons with disabilities have not once seen the budget document of their state, let alone engage with it. Some also find the budget document too bulky to read and engage while some of them lack the technical know-how on checking and analyzing disability-related budget lines.

State-by-State Analysis

Ekiti State

Lagos State

Ondo State

Ogun State

Osun State

Oyo State

Southwest Budget Analysis 2025

Southwest Budgets

by State

Southwest Disability-Specific

Budgets by State

Disability-inclusive budgets begin with informed advocacy. Download the full ThisAbility Budget 2025 report to explore detailed state-by-state analysis.

Challenges to Disability-Inclusive Budget Process in Southwest

Capacity gap among persons with disabilities on budget process

Many persons with disabilities and their organizations lack the technical knowledge to effectively engage with the seemingly complex budget process. It was also alleged that the bulky nature of the budget and the lack of citizens budget in some states makes analysis and engagement difficult.

Lack of Comprehensive Disability-Disaggregated Data

The general lack of accurate, comprehensive and disability disaggregated data on persons with disabilities and their needs negatively affects proper and targeted planning. For example, in Ekiti state, TAB 2025 emphasizes that lack of disability disaggregated data continues to undermine targeted planning and risks underestimating needs, leading to inadequate budget forecasts and allocations.

Limited participation in budget engagement and consultations

Activities such as town hall meetings on budget are mostly ceremonial and inaccessible to persons with disabilities. While in some states, persons with disabilities were invited just to add up to number, some were completely left out while in most cases, they were never allowed to contribute and submit any requests.

Low budgetary provision for disability inclusion

TAB 2025 shows the total disability-specific budget across the six states is only 0.048% of the total combined budget. While Lagos state only voted 0.026% to disability inclusion, Ogun state voted nothing (0.000%), indicating that the funding is insufficient to address widespread barriers and mandates of disability laws.

Lack of political will on the part of duty bearers

Most duty bearers still see disability inclusion with the mindset of charity model of disability thereby reducing their will and commitment to ensure adequate funding to disability inclusion. Some of them only pay lip service to disability inclusion without the real drive and commitment.

Low budgetary provision for disability inclusion

Inaccessible Budget Documents and Information

The inaccessibility of budget documents poses a significant barrier to meaningful participation and especially to budget implementation. TAB 2025 revealed accessible formats such as Braille, large print, audio, and screen-reader compatible digital files are not available in any state making analysis, engagement and monitoring of budget process impossible.

Limited implementation of legal framework

Despite the existence of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 and other states disability laws, its implementation had been somewhat slow due to ridiculously limited funding.