The Federal Government has said it will use the latest fiscal transparency report by the United States Department of State as an external benchmark to strengthen ongoing reforms in Nigeria’s public financial management system.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, stated this on Thursday while reacting to the report, which assessed Nigeria against the US government’s minimum fiscal transparency requirements.
Nigeria failed to meet the minimum requirements for the second consecutive year, with the US Department of State stating that the country made no significant progress in improving financial management and public access to fiscal information in 2025.
The 2026 Fiscal Transparency Report, released on Tuesday, assessed 139 governments and the Palestinian Authority. Only 73 met the minimum standards, while 67 failed to do so.
Of the countries that did not meet the requirements, 14 were recorded as making significant progress, while 53, including Nigeria, were assessed as making no progress.
Reacting to the findings, Dare said the Federal Government acknowledged the concerns raised but stressed that the report should be properly contextualised and should not be viewed as a comprehensive assessment of Nigeria’s entire fiscal governance system.
He explained that the report focused mainly on the public disclosure of national budget information, government contracts and natural resource licences.
According to Dare, the report also acknowledged improvements in the public availability of budget documents and information on debt obligations.
He, however, admitted that procurement disclosure, budget execution reporting and audit processes remained areas requiring further improvement.
“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,” Dare said.
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Dare said the Federal Government had introduced several measures aimed at improving fiscal transparency, including the Open Treasury initiative, public budget documentation, debt disclosures and reforms to the public procurement system.
He added that the government was strengthening digital procurement platforms and other systems designed to make public financial information more accessible, reliable and timely.
Dare described the US report as a useful external benchmark that could help the government identify areas requiring additional attention.
“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.
He reaffirmed the Tinubu administration’s commitment to improving the quality and timeliness of fiscal reporting, strengthening audit institutions and expanding public access to procurement information.
Dare added that the government would continue working to give citizens, investors and other stakeholders greater visibility into the management and utilisation of public resources.
He said the ultimate goal was to establish a fiscal system that promotes transparency and accountability, strengthens public confidence, supports investment and ensures that public resources are managed efficiently in the national interest.