The Federal Government has said that it would use the latest fiscal transparency report by the United States Department of State as an external benchmark to further strengthen ongoing reforms in public financial management.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare made this known in a statement on Thursday, while reacting to the report that assessed Nigeria against the minimum fiscal transparency requirements of the US Department of State.
Nigeria for the second consecutive year failed the minimum fiscal transparency requirements with the U.S Department of State saying the country made no significant progress in improving its financial management and opening up its public finances in 2025, according to reports.
The department assessed 139 governments and the Palestinian Authority in its 2026 Fiscal Transparency Report published Tuesday, with only 73 meeting the minimum standards.
Of the 67 that did not, 14 were marked as making significant progress, while 53, including Nigeria, were marked as making no progress.
Reacting to the feedback, Dare said the Federal Government noted the findings but called for them to be properly contextualized, emphasizing that the report should not be seen as a comprehensive assessment of Nigeria’s fiscal governance.
He said the US Fiscal Transparency Report focused particularly on public disclosure of information about the national budget, government contracts and natural-resource licences.
“It should therefore not be viewed as a comprehensive assessment of all the fiscal and public financial management reforms that are currently ongoing in Nigeria,” Dare said.
He stated that the report itself admitted that Nigeria has made progress in making budget documents and debt obligations public.
However he said the government recognized the concerns raised in the areas of procurement disclosure, budget-execution reporting and audit processes.
“The issues raised, especially in relation to procurement disclosure, budget-execution reporting and audit processes, are areas that the government takes seriously and where ongoing institutional reforms are intended to yield further improvements,” he said.
Government Emphasizes Transparency Initiatives
Dare said Nigeria had set up several mechanisms to improve fiscal transparency, including the Open Treasury initiative, public budget documentation, debt disclosures and reforms to public procurement.
He also said the Federal Government was beefing up digital procurement and other systems to improve accessibility, reliability and timeliness of public financial information.
“The right response, therefore, is neither to reject the findings nor to represent them as a total picture of Nigeria’s fiscal governance. “Rather, the report provides an external benchmark that can be used to further strengthen existing reforms,” Dare said.
He said the administration of President Bola Tinubu was committed to improving the quality and timeliness of fiscal reporting, strengthening audit institutions and increasing access to procurement information.
The government will continue to work to make sure that citizens, investors and other stakeholders are better informed about the management and use of public resources, added Dare.
The ultimate goal was to establish a fiscal system that was transparent, accountable and credible, he said.
“Ultimately the objective is the same: a more transparent, accountable and credible fiscal system that enhances public confidence, supports investment and ensures that public resources are managed efficiently and in the national interest,” he said.