Why US report on Nigeria’s fiscal policy is faulty – Analyst, Ude

A public affairs analyst and legal practitioner, John Ude, Esq., has explained why the United States’ assessment of Nigeria’s fiscal transparency is faulty.

In a statement on Friday, Ude said the assessment was flawed when placed side-by-side with verifiable fiscal information on Nigeria.

DAILY POST reports that the US Department of State’s 2026 Fiscal Transparency data, published on Tuesday, scored the Nigerian government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration poorly, citing a lack of fiscal honesty over vague revenue and expenditure disclosures.

Reacting, Ude said the US report should not be treated as a complete assessment of Nigeria’s fiscal performance.

“The US report, released on Tuesday, said Nigeria failed to meet the minimum requirements for fiscal transparency for the second consecutive year and made no significant progress in improving its financial management in 2025.

“The fact that the report acknowledges the publication of the enacted budget, end-of-year report and debt information demonstrates that there are functioning transparency mechanisms within the system.

“We are not arguing that Nigeria has achieved perfection in fiscal transparency. There are gaps that must be addressed, particularly around procurement disclosure, audit effectiveness and the timely publication of some fiscal documents,” Ude stated.