𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗨𝗦 𝗙𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱

Nigeria failed to meet the United States government’s minimum fiscal transparency requirements in 2025, according to the 2026 fiscal transparency report released by the US Department of State on Thursday.

The report assessed Nigeria and 138 other governments, as well as the Palestinian Authority, for the period January 1 to December 31, 2025.

According to the report, Nigeria is among 67 governments that did not meet the minimum requirements. The US also placed Nigeria among countries that made “no significant progress” towards addressing deficiencies identified during the review period.

The US Department of State said its assessment examines whether governments make key fiscal information available to the public, including budget documents, debt obligations, audit reports, natural resource contracts and public procurement information.

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

The report 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.”

According to the US, the assessment also supports business environments by strengthening public financial management and reducing the risks of corruption and unfair practices in international markets. It also helps to “advance internationally recognized industry standards for extractive industries” and reduce risks associated with financial crimes such as money laundering and terrorist financing.

The assessment requires governments to make executive budget proposals, enacted budgets and end-of-year reports widely and easily accessible within specified periods. It also requires that information on government debt obligations, including debt linked to major state-owned enterprises, be publicly available on a public-facing website and updated at least annually.

Budget documents are expected to provide a substantially complete picture of planned government revenue and expenditure, including natural resource revenues. The documents should include expenditure broken down by ministry and revenue broken down by source and type, as well as allocations to and earnings from state-owned enterprises.

On reliability, the US said actual government revenue and expenditure should correspond to the enacted budget, while significant deviations should be explained and publicly disclosed.

The assessment also examined the independence and effectiveness of supreme audit institutions, and for countries with significant natural resource extraction, whether criteria for awarding contracts and licences are publicly available and codified in law.

The department, however, cautioned that the fiscal transparency assessment should not be interpreted as a corruption ranking.

“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 said.

Of the 140 governments assessed, 73 met the minimum fiscal transparency requirements, while 67 did not. Fourteen of those that failed were assessed to have made significant progress.

The 2026 report also introduced stricter criteria, requiring governments to publicly disclose the terms and conditions of sovereign loans made to foreign borrowers, including liabilities and collateralised assets.