ABUJA — Civic-tech organisation, BudgIT, has urged the Federal Government to take seriously the 2026 Fiscal Transparency Report of the United States Department of State, which scored Nigeria poorly for the second consecutive year.
BudgIT, in a statement by its Country Director, Vahyala Kwaga, urged the government to address identified gaps in budget implementation reporting, auditing and public procurement.
The U.S. report assessed Nigeria’s fiscal transparency practices between January 1 and December 31, 2025, and placed the country among 67 of the 140 governments and entities assessed as failing to meet minimum fiscal transparency requirements.
BudgIT said the findings should not be dismissed, even though the report also acknowledged some areas of progress, including the availability of information on public debt and the legal framework supporting Nigeria’s Sovereign Wealth Fund.
“BudgIT is particularly concerned that, while the Federal Government has continued to publish budget documents, the reporting of actual budget implementation remains inadequate,” the organisation said.
It noted that publishing approved budget figures was insufficient without timely and consolidated information showing actual revenue collection and expenditure.
“Nigeria has adopted the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) since 2016. As such, the principles of transparency and accountability embedded in globally accepted public-sector financial reporting should therefore be reflected in the quality, timeliness and completeness of fiscal reports,” it said.
According to BudgIT, the U.S. assessment reinforced concerns over the credibility of budget implementation reports, the independence and effectiveness of the country’s audit institution and access to public procurement information.
“These are not merely technical issues; they directly affect citizens’ ability to understand how public resources are raised, allocated and spent,” it said.
The organisation 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.
“When citizens cannot readily establish what the government planned to receive and spend, and what was actually received and spent, meaningful public accountability becomes difficult,” BudgIT said.
On the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, the organisation called for stronger institutional independence and timely publication of audit findings.
It said an effective supreme audit institution was critical to ensuring that public resources were properly utilised and that government spending complied with approved appropriations and applicable laws.
BudgIT also raised concerns about the accessibility of public procurement information, saying citizens should be able to track contracts from the publication of procurement opportunities through bidding, award, execution and completion.
On extractive industries, the organisation called for greater disclosure of information relating to concessions, including the geographical areas covered, resources involved, duration and companies awarded contracts.
“Given the importance of natural resources to Nigeria’s public finances, greater disclosure in this area is essential for strengthening public trust and ensuring that citizens can determine whether the country is receiving fair value from its natural assets,” it said.
BudgIT acknowledged the progress recognised by the U.S. assessment, particularly the availability of information on public debt obligations and the legal framework governing the Sovereign Wealth Fund.
However, it stressed that Nigeria’s objective should go beyond merely passing an external transparency assessment.
“The more important objective is to build a fiscal system in which citizens can confidently understand how much government earns, how much it plans to spend, how much it actually spends, who receives public funds and what outcomes are delivered with those resources,” the organisation said.
“Fiscal transparency must ultimately translate into fiscal accountability and better public services.”
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