Economists have backed the United States’ assessment that Nigeria failed to meet minimum fiscal transparency requirements, warning that weak budget implementation, inadequate financial disclosure and poor audit practices could undermine investor confidence and economic prospects.
The 2026 US Fiscal Transparency Report, published on August 11, placed Nigeria among 67 of 140 governments and entities that failed to meet minimum requirements during the January-December 2025 review period. Nigeria was also among those that made no significant progress in addressing previously identified deficiencies.
The report highlighted gaps including the late publication of executive budget proposals, incomplete budget information, discrepancies between actual and approved revenues and expenditure, inadequate independence of the supreme audit institution and limited public access to procurement contract information. It also noted that Nigeria had made debt information and enacted budgets accessible to the public.
Economists said the findings reflected longstanding weaknesses in Nigeria’s public financial management. Lagos Business School’s Franklin Ngwu warned that repeated budget rollovers and uncertainty over the applicable budget could discourage foreign direct investment, while Akpan Ekpo called for greater transparency in borrowing, procurement, revenue and expenditure.
Ayo Teriba of Economic Associates said Nigeria rarely publishes sufficient reports showing how approved budgets performed, urging the government to release year-to-date performance before presenting new budget proposals. However, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise CEO Muda Yusuf said the government deserved credit for making detailed budget documents publicly available, although he acknowledged that implementation still required reform.
The US Department of State recommended that Nigeria make executive budget proposals easily accessible, provide a complete picture of government revenues and expenditure, ensure actual spending aligns reasonably with approved budgets, strengthen the independence and reporting of the supreme audit institution, and publish accessible information on public procurement contracts.
The report said 73 governments met the minimum fiscal transparency requirements, including Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda. For Nigeria, the assessment presents a mixed picture: while the country has made some fiscal information accessible and maintains legal frameworks for areas such as natural resource contracting, significant gaps remain in the completeness, reliability and public accessibility of its financial information.
