Abuja | Media360Impact | October 29, 2026
Connected Development (CODE), a Nigerian civic organisation, has been selected for the CIVICUS Digital Democracy Initiative (DDI) Civic Tech Lab Cohort to expand its iFollowTheMoney platform and help more Nigerians monitor public budgets and government projects.
The initiative aims to make budget information more accessible to ordinary citizens, particularly people in rural communities, market traders, smallholder farmers and local leaders who often face barriers to using digital accountability tools.
For more than a decade, many civic technology platforms have remained difficult to access for people without laptops, reliable internet connections or strong English-language skills.
CODE plans to address these challenges by upgrading iFollowTheMoney, the digital platform supporting Follow The Money, an Africa-wide citizen-led social accountability movement.
The CIVICUS Digital Democracy Initiative Civic Tech Lab is a scale-up accelerator that supports promising civic technology projects through catalytic funding, technical mentorship from the Evidence and Methods Lab (EML), and peer learning opportunities.
Three Major Upgrades Planned
The expansion of iFollowTheMoney will focus on three major improvements designed to bring budget monitoring closer to communities across Nigeria.
First, CODE plans to introduce a native Android application designed to work on low-end smartphones and accommodate intermittent internet connectivity. This is expected to make the platform more useful to people in areas with limited access to reliable internet services.
Second, the organisation will develop a multilingual Smart Budget Dashboard in nine languages: English, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, French, Swahili, Arabic, Amharic and Portuguese.
Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo will be prioritised at launch to help more Nigerians access budget information in languages they understand.
Third, CODE will train and deploy 36 Community Budget Monitors (CBMs) across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. At least half of the monitors will be women.
The community monitors are expected to support grassroots participation in tracking government spending and checking whether public projects are being delivered as announced.
CODE: Language Should Not Be a Barrier
Hyeladzira James, Acting Chief Executive of CODE, said the expansion was designed to remove barriers that prevent citizens from accessing public information and participating in accountability processes.
“What we are building now removes the last barriers between a citizen and that information. Language should not be a wall, and a smartphone should not be a prerequisite. We are delivering accountability infrastructure designed for everyone, starting with the people who have been waiting the longest,” James said.
The organisation believes that improving access to budget information will help more citizens understand government spending and participate in monitoring projects intended to serve their communities.
Why the Initiative Matters
Nigeria’s 2026 national budget stands at ₦68.32 trillion, according to the figures cited in CODE’s announcement.
However, citizens across the country’s 774 local government areas may struggle to establish whether projects announced by public officials are being implemented as promised.
By expanding iFollowTheMoney, CODE aims to make it easier for citizens to access relevant budget information and participate in monitoring public projects.
The planned Android application, multilingual dashboard and community monitoring network are intended to strengthen the platform’s reach beyond people who already have the digital skills and resources needed to use online accountability tools.
Rather than replacing its existing platform, CODE says the expansion will build on what already works while extending access to communities that have been underserved by digital civic technology.
The initiative places local participation, language accessibility and grassroots monitoring at the centre of efforts to strengthen public accountability in Nigeria.
If successfully implemented, the expansion could provide more citizens with practical tools to question public spending, monitor government projects and demand answers when promised developments fail to materialise.
Source: Connected Development (CODE)
