Public Finance
Reading a state budget without losing the thread
A practical walk-through of how allocations move from paper to spend, and where the gaps usually sit.
2026-07-24
Dataset 001 — Public Interest Reporting
Reporting that shows its working, one figure at a time.
Morvian is a data-driven investigative studio based in Abuja. We publish open datasets, reproducible analysis, and reporting that a careful reader can check line by line.
140+
Datasets published
9
Years in operation
1,300+
Registered analysts
36
States covered
01 / Our approach
Figures should be inspectable, not merely displayed.
We build our reporting the way an auditor builds a working paper: sources named, calculations shown, and the gaps in the data stated plainly rather than smoothed over. Readers who want to check a number can, without asking us to take it on faith.
- Provenance stated for every dataset we publish
- Reproducibility notes accompany published figures
- Known gaps disclosed rather than hidden
02 / What we offer
Ways to work with our data
Dataset Access Plan
Published datasets with provenance cards and definitions, updated monthly.
Learn more →Analysis Companion Plan
Working files and annotated notebooks showing how published figures were reached.
Learn more →Data Reporting Training
A four-week practical course on sourcing and presenting figures responsibly.
Learn more →03 / From the desk
Recent analysis
Procurement
What contract registers can and cannot tell you
A look at the strengths and blind spots of public procurement records, with worked examples.
2026-07-30
Methods
Why we publish our working, not just our conclusions
A note on reproducibility, and why a reader should be able to redo our arithmetic.
2026-08-05
04 / Why it matters
Numbers deserve the same scrutiny as quotes.
- We check totals against original records before publishing
- We state uncertainty rather than round it away
- We invite readers to reproduce what we found
If a figure matters to your work, we'd be glad to help you check it.
Talk to our team05 / Trusted by
What people who use our data say
"Morvian's provenance cards saved us weeks of verification work on a cross-state budget comparison."
Ijeoma Nwafor
Policy Analyst, Civic Watch
"The reproducibility notes are the clearest I've seen from any Nigerian outlet doing this kind of work."
Tunde Balogun
Lecturer, University of Ibadan
"Our newsroom now checks every budget story against their dataset access plan before we run it."
Chidera Okonjo
Editor, Lagos Bulletin
Frequently asked questions
Send us a message
We read every message and reply within a few working days.