US: Nigeria fails 2025 fiscal transparency test

Nigeria did not satisfy the minimum fiscal transparency standards set by the United States government in 2025.

The finding was published in the 2026 Fiscal Transparency Report issued by the US Department of State on Thursday.

The report said Nigeria had made no notable progress in resolving the shortcomings identified during the assessment period.

The review covered Nigeria and 138 other governments, alongside the Palestinian Authority, between January 1 and December 31, 2025.

Nigeria was among 67 governments that failed to meet the minimum fiscal transparency standards.

The country was also listed among governments that recorded “no significant progress” towards satisfying the requirements during the period under review.

The US Department of State said its assessment focuses on whether governments publicly provide important fiscal information, such as budget records, debt obligations, audit findings, natural resource agreements and public procurement details.

“Fiscal transparency is a critical element of effective public financial management, helps build market confidence, and underpins economic sustainability,” the department said.

The department added that transparency “fosters greater government accountability by providing a window into government budgets, helping citizens hold their leadership accountable and facilitating better public debate”.

The US said the assessment also seeks to strengthen business conditions by improving public financial management while lowering the potential for corruption and unfair practices in international markets.

According to the report, fiscal transparency can also “advance internationally recognized industry standards for extractive industries to improve market access” and limit exposure to financial crimes, including money laundering and terrorist financing.

The report said governments are expected to publish executive budget proposals, approved budgets and year-end reports and ensure that the documents are accessible to the public within specified timelines.

“Budget documents, including the executive budget proposal, enacted budget, and end-of-year report, should be widely and easily accessible to the public,” the report said.

The US also expects governments to publish details of their debt obligations, including liabilities associated with major state-owned enterprises.

“Information on government debt obligations, including from state-owned enterprises, should also be publicly available on a public-facing website and updated at least annually,” the report added.

The assessment also considers whether publicly available budget records give a substantially complete account of projected government income and spending.

“Publicly available budget documents should provide a substantially full picture of a government’s planned expenditures and revenue, including natural resource revenues,” the US said.

Such documents, according to the report, should show spending by ministry and revenue according to its source and category, as well as allocations made to state-owned enterprises and their earnings.

Government revenue should tally with budget

On the reliability of financial information, the US said actual government income and spending should align with the approved budget, while major differences should be explained and made public.

“Budget documents and related data are considered reliable if the information contained therein is credible, meaning actual government revenues and expenditures correspond to the enacted budget,” the department added.

The review also considered the independence and effectiveness of supreme audit institutions, including their capacity to examine annual government financial statements and make their findings public.

For countries with substantial natural resource extraction activities, the US said rules and procedures governing the award of extraction licences and contracts should be publicly available and established through law or regulation.

“The basic parameters of concessions and contracts should be made publicly available after the decision,” the report said.

The department, however, stressed that the fiscal transparency assessment should not be regarded as a measure of corruption.

“A finding that a government ‘does not meet the minimum fiscal transparency requirements’ does not necessarily mean there is significant corruption in the government,” the department added.

“Similarly, a finding that a government ‘meets the minimum fiscal transparency requirements’ does not necessarily reflect a low level of corruption.”

Of the 140 governments assessed, including the Palestinian Authority, 73 were found to have met the minimum fiscal transparency requirements, while 67 failed to meet them.

The report further stated that 14 of the governments that did not meet the requirements had nevertheless recorded significant progress.

The 2026 assessment also introduced stricter requirements, including an obligation for governments to publicly disclose the terms of sovereign loans provided to foreign borrowers, including related liabilities and assets pledged as collateral.