Economists Back US on Nigeria's Fiscal Transparency Failures

Economists have endorsed the US Department of State's 2026 Fiscal Transparency Report, which indicated that Nigeria failed to meet minimum fiscal transparency requirements. The report, published on August 11, assessed Nigeria alongside 66 other governments out of 140 evaluated, noting that Nigeria made no significant progress in addressing identified deficiencies during the review period of January 1 to December 31, 2025.

Key issues highlighted include weak budget implementation, inadequate public finance disclosure, and poor audit practices, which could negatively impact investor confidence and Nigeria's economic outlook. The report pointed out that while Nigeria made its enacted budget and end-of-year report accessible online, it failed to publish its executive budget proposal in a timely manner.

Additionally, discrepancies between actual revenues and expenditures and the enacted budget were noted, alongside concerns regarding the independence of Nigeria's supreme audit institution, which did not meet international standards and lacked substantive reporting.