A recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has found that Nigeria currently records none of its development cooperation flows on the national budget. This limits formal scrutiny of external resources, according to the report, Making Development Co-operation More Effective Progress Report 2026. The report covered 44 partner-country governments, including Nigeria, and was based on the 2023-2026 monitoring round of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation.
The report identified significant challenges in Nigeria, particularly in transparency and accountability. The absence of development co-operation flows recorded on the national budget represents a sharp deterioration from 49 per cent recorded in 2018. This gap severely restricts formal legislative scrutiny of external resources. Despite strong stakeholder engagement in the formulation of national development strategies, priorities, and results, external development resources are not being fully integrated into Nigeria's formal budgeting process.
The OECD report also found that only 17 per cent of development partners provide Nigeria with forward-spending plans, down from 22 per cent in 2018. This restricts the government's ability to plan development expenditure over the medium term. However, the Nigeria country results brief recorded 100 per cent annual predictability under its specific measurement of funding scheduled to the public sector and disbursed within the same fiscal year, compared with 97 per cent in 2018.
The report highlighted a gap between development partners' stated alignment with Nigeria's development priorities and their use of national systems. While 99 per cent of development partners' project objectives were aligned with country-owned results frameworks, only 51 per cent of their project indicators were drawn from those national frameworks. This indicates that development partners are not fully using Nigeria's systems to implement projects.
The report also found that development partners' overall use of Nigeria's public financial management (PFM) systems had fallen to 63 per cent, from 79 per cent in 2018. Despite improvements in some components of the system, the decline in the use of PFM systems is a concern. The federal ministry of budget and economic planning led the Nigeria process for the report.
In response to the report's findings, Nigeria has pledged to record all flows in the 2027 budget. This move aims to improve transparency and accountability in the management of external resources. The OECD report provides a comprehensive assessment of Nigeria's development cooperation landscape, highlighting areas for improvement.
The report's findings have significant implications for Nigeria's development cooperation landscape. With only 35 per cent of development indicators trackable with government data, there is a need for improved data collection and reporting. The report's recommendations are expected to inform Nigeria's development cooperation policies and strategies in the coming years.
Key points
- Nigeria currently records none of its development cooperation flows on the national budget.
- Only 17 per cent of development partners provide Nigeria with forward-spending plans.
- Nigeria has pledged to record all flows in the 2027 budget to improve transparency and accountability.
