The United States Government has criticised Nigeria’s fiscal transparency record, saying the Federal Government has not provided sufficient information to enable citizens to clearly understand how public revenues are generated and how government funds are spent.
The assessment was contained in the 2026 Fiscal Transparency Report released by the US Department of State, which evaluates the public availability and reliability of government budget information, as well as transparency in public procurement and natural resource licensing.
The report acknowledged that Nigeria had made some fiscal information available to the public but said the documents published by the government did not provide a complete picture of the country’s revenues and expenditures.
According to the report, significant gaps remain in the way Nigeria presents information on public finances, including the level of detail provided on spending by executive offices.
The United States also raised concerns over the relationship between Nigeria’s approved budget and the actual revenue and expenditure recorded during implementation.
“Actual revenues and expenditures did not reasonably correspond to those in the enacted budget. The government did not publish accessible information on public procurement contracts,” the report stated.
The US government also examined Nigeria’s audit system and said the country’s supreme audit institution did not meet international standards for independence.
It further faulted the institution for failing to publish substantive audit reports despite having access to the government’s entire executed budget.
The report said stronger independent auditing would improve public scrutiny of government spending and help citizens determine whether approved funds were being used for the purposes for which they were appropriated.
Public procurement was another area of concern highlighted in the assessment.
The US government said Nigeria continued to face challenges in making information about government contracts easily accessible to the public.
It said the lack of accessible procurement information limited the ability of citizens to monitor how public contracts are awarded and implemented.
However, the report acknowledged areas where Nigeria had made progress in fiscal transparency.
It noted that the country had made information on its debt obligations publicly available, including major obligations associated with state-owned enterprises.
Nigeria was also recognised for its natural resource contracting framework.
According to the assessment, the country had established legal criteria and procedures for awarding licences and contracts for natural resource extraction and generally followed the existing regulations in practice.
Despite these areas of progress, the US government said more needed to be done to make Nigeria’s public finances easier for citizens to understand and scrutinise.
It recommended that the Federal Government make its executive budget proposal widely and easily accessible to the public, including through online platforms.
The assessment comes amid the Tinubu administration’s repeated emphasis on fiscal discipline, revenue mobilisation and transparency as key elements of its economic reform programme.
At the signing of the 2025 Appropriation Act on February 28, 2025, President Bola Tinubu stressed the need for prudent management of public funds.
“We cannot spend what we do not have,” Tinubu said.
He also said the government would work to increase revenue, attract investment and ensure accountability in public spending.
“Hold every agency accountable for prudent spending and value-for-money initiatives,” the President said.
The administration has since pursued reforms targeting government revenue, taxation, debt management and public financial administration.
The 2026 budget also contains significant spending commitments, with Tinubu projecting total revenue of N34.33 trillion and expenditure of N58.18 trillion.
Debt servicing was projected at N15.52 trillion, while capital expenditure was put at N26.08 trillion.
The President said the figures reflected the administration’s priorities and pledged stronger fiscal management.
“We will continue to reduce waste, strengthen controls, and ensure that every naira borrowed or spent delivers measurable public value,” he said.
Tinubu has continued to defend his administration’s fiscal reforms while promising greater transparency in the management of public resources.
In May, the President reiterated his commitment to fiscal discipline and transparency during an engagement with investors as the Federal Government continued efforts to attract investment into the Nigerian economy.
The administration has argued that its reforms have improved government revenue and strengthened Nigeria’s fiscal position.
In his speech marking the second anniversary of his administration in May 2025, Tinubu said the fiscal deficit had declined from 5.4 per cent of GDP in 2023 to 3.0 per cent in 2024.
He also said the government recorded more than N6 trillion in revenue in the first quarter of 2025, attributing the improvement to reforms in government finances and revenue mobilisation.
The administration has also pursued tax reforms and changes in the oil and gas sector as part of efforts to expand the country’s revenue base and reduce dependence on borrowing.
However, the latest US assessment underscores that increasing government revenue is only one aspect of fiscal management.
The report places equal emphasis on how revenues are reported, how expenditures are disclosed and whether citizens can easily compare approved budgets with actual government spending.
The issue is particularly significant as Nigeria manages increasingly large annual budgets and substantial debt-servicing obligations.
The Federal Government’s 2026 budget provides for tens of trillions of naira in expenditure, making effective public monitoring and independent auditing increasingly important to fiscal accountability.
