BudgIT has urged the Federal Government to urgently address persistent weaknesses in Nigeria’s budget execution, public auditing and procurement disclosure, following the country’s second consecutive failure to meet the minimum fiscal transparency requirements assessed by the United States Department of State.
The civic-tech organisation, which promotes transparency and accountability in public finance, in a statement signed by Vahyala Kwaga, Country Director, BudgIT. said the findings of the U.S. Department of State’s 2026 Fiscal Transparency Report should serve as a wake-up call for comprehensive reforms in Nigeria’s public financial management system.
The assessment, which covered Nigeria’s fiscal transparency practices between January 1 and December 31, 2025, placed Nigeria among 67 of the 140 governments and entities assessed that failed to meet the minimum requirements.
According to BudgIT, only 14 of the governments that failed the requirements were judged to have made significant progress in addressing identified deficiencies, with Nigeria not included among them.
While noting that the report focused specifically on fiscal disclosure and was not a comprehensive assessment of all public financial management reforms in Nigeria, BudgIT said its findings highlighted significant concerns over the credibility of budget implementation reports, the independence of the country’s audit institution and access to public procurement information.
The organisation said the issues directly affect citizens’ ability to understand how public resources are generated, allocated and spent.
BudgIT expressed particular concern over the report’s finding that Nigeria’s budget documents did not provide a substantially complete picture of government revenues and expenditures, while actual revenues and expenditures did not reasonably correspond with the enacted budget.
It said the situation raised serious questions about the credibility of the budget, stressing that a budget should not merely represent government intentions but should provide a clear framework for communicating fiscal priorities and the allocation of public resources.
The organisation said although the Federal Government had continued to publish budget documents, information on actual budget implementation remained inadequate.
“While it is relatively easy to announce approved budget figures, it is considerably more important to provide timely and consolidated information on actual revenue collection and expenditure,” BudgIT said.
It noted that Nigeria adopted the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in 2016, arguing that the principles of transparency and accountability embedded in the framework should be reflected in the quality, timeliness and completeness of fiscal reports.
BudgIT also raised concerns about the country’s audit architecture, noting that the U.S. assessment found that the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation did not meet international standards of independence and had not published substantive audit reports as required.
According to the organisation, an effective supreme audit institution is essential to ensuring accountability because it provides an independent assessment of the utilisation of public resources and compliance with approved appropriations and relevant laws.
It therefore called for the completion of long-overdue reforms to Nigeria’s audit framework, arguing that the continued reliance on an outdated legal framework limits the independence, authority and institutional capacity of the Auditor-General’s office.
“Strengthening the independence of the Auditor-General should be treated as an urgent governance reform rather than a peripheral legislative matter,” BudgIT said.
On public procurement, the organisation said accessible information on government contracts remained insufficient, making it difficult for citizens to track procurement processes from the publication of opportunities and bidding to contract awards, execution and completion.
It called for the routine publication of procurement journals, bid-opening information, contract awards, contract values, implementation status and contract variations.
BudgIT also highlighted concerns over the disclosure of natural-resource contracts, noting that although Nigeria has legal procedures for awarding extractive-sector contracts and licences, basic information about concessions was not publicly available after decisions were made.
It said details including the geographic area covered, resources involved, duration of concessions and companies awarded contracts should be disclosed, particularly given the importance of natural resources to Nigeria’s public finances.
The organisation, however, acknowledged areas where the U.S. assessment recognised progress, including the public availability of Nigeria’s enacted budget and end-of-year report, information on government debt obligations and major debts of state-owned enterprises, as well as a sound legal framework for the Sovereign Wealth Fund.
BudgIT stressed, however, that publishing fiscal documents alone does not amount to effective transparency if the information provided is incomplete, delayed, difficult to reconcile or insufficient for meaningful public scrutiny.
Commenting on the report, BudgIT’s Head of Research and Policy Advisory, Engr. Adejoke Akinbode, urged the Federal Government to use the findings as an opportunity to review Nigeria’s fiscal disclosure architecture ahead of the 2027 budget cycle.
Akinbode called for the Executive Budget Proposal to be published early enough to allow meaningful scrutiny by citizens and the National Assembly.
She also advocated complete revenue and expenditure breakdowns by source, ministry, department and agency, alongside clear explanations for significant differences between approved and actual spending.
According to her, the government should strengthen the independence of the Auditor-General’s office, ensure the timely publication of audit reports and improve public access to procurement and contract information.
BudgIT said Nigeria’s objective should not merely be to improve its performance in external transparency assessments but to establish a fiscal system through which citizens can clearly understand government revenues, planned and actual expenditure, beneficiaries of public funds and the outcomes achieved.
The organisation said Nigeria’s second consecutive failure should be treated as a call to action rather than a political controversy.
It urged the Federal Government to demonstrate its commitment to fiscal transparency through measurable improvements in the timeliness, completeness and credibility of fiscal reporting, stronger audit institutions and meaningful disclosure of public contracts as the country enters another budget cycle.
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