The Presidency has pushed back against the latest United States assessment of Nigeria’s fiscal transparency, saying the report should not be treated as a complete verdict on the country’s financial management.
The reaction came after the US Department of State’s 2026 Fiscal Transparency Report placed Nigeria among countries that failed to meet the minimum fiscal-transparency requirements, citing concerns over budget disclosure, budget execution, public procurement and audit processes.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, said the Federal Government acknowledged the findings but maintained that Nigeria was implementing reforms to improve the management, reporting and disclosure of public resources.
Dare said the US assessment was based on specific transparency benchmarks and should not be interpreted as an assessment of every fiscal and public financial management reform being undertaken by the Nigerian government.
“It should therefore not be interpreted as a comprehensive assessment of all fiscal and public financial management reforms currently underway in Nigeria,” Dare said.
According to him, the report itself recognised areas where Nigeria had made progress, particularly in making budget documents and debt obligations publicly available.
He, however, acknowledged that the concerns raised by the US government over procurement disclosure, budget execution and auditing required further attention.
“The issues identified, particularly around procurement disclosure, budget-execution reporting and audit processes, are areas that the government takes seriously and where ongoing institutional reforms are intended to produce further improvements,” he said.
The US report had raised concerns about the level of detail contained in Nigeria’s budget documents and noted that actual government revenues and expenditures did not reasonably correspond with figures contained in the enacted budget. It also faulted the timing of the executive budget proposal and raised concerns about the independence and effectiveness of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation.
The report further identified limited public access to government procurement contracts as another area requiring improvement, while recommending measures including timely publication of the executive budget proposal, clearer disclosure of revenues and expenditure, stronger audit independence and greater access to procurement information.
Dare, however, said the Federal Government had already established mechanisms aimed at improving fiscal openness, including the Open Treasury initiative, public budget documentation, debt disclosures and public procurement reforms.
He added that the government was strengthening digital procurement systems to improve the accessibility, reliability and timeliness of financial information.
“Nigeria has established a number of mechanisms to promote fiscal transparency, including the Open Treasury initiative, public budget documentation, debt disclosures and reforms to public procurement,” Dare said.
He said the government’s response to the US report would not be to dismiss its findings but to use them to strengthen existing reforms.
“The appropriate response, therefore, is neither to dismiss the findings nor to portray them as a complete characterisation of Nigeria’s fiscal governance. Rather, the report provides an external benchmark against which existing reforms can be further strengthened,” he said.
Dare assured that the Federal Government would continue to improve the quality and timeliness of fiscal reporting, strengthen audit institutions and expand access to procurement information.
He said the reforms were ultimately aimed at giving citizens, investors and other stakeholders clearer information about how public funds were managed and spent.
“The objective is ultimately the same: a more transparent, accountable and credible fiscal system that strengthens public confidence, supports investment and ensures that public resources are managed efficiently and in the national interest,” Dare said.
The latest US assessment has renewed scrutiny of Nigeria’s fiscal management, coming as the Federal Government prepares for another budget cycle and faces growing demands for greater transparency in public spending.
