US embassy cable - 03ABUJA887

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000887 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR AF/W, AF/EPS, AND EB/IFD/OIA 
TASHKENT FOR BURKHALTER 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AA, AMGT, EAID, ECON, EFIN, EINV, EPET, ETRD, NI 
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: INFORMATION ON GON FISCAL TRANSPARENCY 
 
REF: STATE 100294 
 
 
1. Paragraph 2 provides answers to reftel questions. 
 
 
2. 
A. Does the host government publish the national budget in a 
timely manner? 
 
 
Answer: Yes, with minimum delay (under one year). 
 
 
B. Where sub-national levels of government are significant, 
are their combined fiscal positions published? 
 
 
Answer: No. 
 
 
C. In what form is the national budget published? 
Answer: Government publication. 
 
 
D. Please rate the quality and comprehensiveness of fiscal 
data published. 
 
 
Answer: No adequate system of budget reporting and monitoring 
with limited classification system. There are significant 
payment arrears, and actual expenditures often deviate 
significantly from amounts budgeted. 
 
 
E. List up to five key laws and/or regulations governing 
public disclosure and expenditures in the national budget, if 
applicable and such laws exist. 
 
 
Answer: Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 
(1999). 
 
 
F. Assess the adequacy of those laws and regulations 
establishing fiscal transparency and accountability 
requirements. 
 
 
Answer: Wholly inadequate. 
 
 
G. Assess extent to which laws and regulations on fiscal 
transparency and accountability are implemented and enforced. 
 
 
Answer: Sporadically/unevenly enforced. 
 
 
H. How would distribution of tax powers and expenditure 
responsibilities of central government be described. 
 
 
Answer: Currently being clarified. 
 
 
I. Does a national audit body or equivalent organization, 
independent of the executive, provide reports for the 
legislature and the public on the financial integrity of 
government accounts? 
 
 
Answer: Yes. 
 
 
J. How would the link between nonfinancial public/state-owned 
(e.g., extractive industries) enterprises and general 
government be described? 
 
 
Answer: Limited independence of spending/procurement. 
 
 
K. Are privatization processes transparent and published? 
 
 
Answer: Mostly transparent. 
 
 
L. How would the reliability and budget revenue and 
expenditure estimates best be described? 
 
 
Answer: Unreliable. 
 
 
M. Please provide a short evaluative narrative of host 
government commitment to fiscal transparency and 
accountability. 
 
 
Answer: The GON has a stated commitment to budget 
transparency. In his message to the National Assembly 
accompanying the 2003 budget proposal, President Obasanjo 
pledged the following: &Continued emphasis on allocative 
efficiency by ensuring value for money in Federal Government 
expenditure and ensuring execution follows rules of fiscal 
transparency at all levels.8 To date, publicly available 
information on the 2003 budget proposal includes no details. 
 
 
The 2002 budget, including details, was made widely available 
in early 2002, but information on how that budget was 
actually implemented is lacking. The Office of the Accountant 
General of the Federation claims that it publishes a monthly 
cash flow statement on a website (www.oagf.gov.ng) showing 
consolidated revenues and expenditures. However, Post has 
been unable to locate the website or obtain a copy of such a 
statement from the Accountant General, and Post is unaware of 
any other publicly available documents that reconcile the 
budget with actual expenditure. 
A due diligence unit has been established in the Office of 
the President to vet budget expenditures on major 
government-funded contracts to ensure that expenditures are 
in line with prevailing international rates. 
 
 
The Auditor General of the Federation in early 2003 provided 
the National Assembly with a report on 2001 fiscal year that 
was critical of some Ministries. The Acting Auditor General 
who submitted the report was replaced under ambiguous 
circumstances. In early May 2003, the outgoing Senate 
announced it would hold public hearings on the report's 
findings, but it is unclear whether these hearings will 
continue when new members take office at the end of May. 
In 2002, the National Assembly considered but did not pass a 
fiscal responsibility bill that would more clearly spell out 
the steps the GON must take to ensure transparency and 
accountability of public expenditure. A procurement reform 
bill was also introduced but not passed. 
 
 
N. Please list U.S. government-sponsored programs and 
activities that promote accurate disclosure of revenues and 
expenditures in the national budgets of your host country. 
 
 
Answer: USG Assistance to the GON in fiscal transparency 
since the return to democracy in 1999 has included the 
following: 
--Supporting the Budget Office of the Federation to improve 
development and execution of the Federal budget in a more 
transparent manner; 
--Assisting &due process8 examination of the capital budget 
by Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit; 
--Supporting development of a best-practices Public 
Procurement Law, which is awaiting legislative passage, and 
of a Public Procurement Procedures Manual, which can be 
employed once the enabling legislation is passed; 
--Assisting the Debt Management Office to track and manage 
Federal domestic debt; and 
--Parallel financing (with World Bank, U.K. Department for 
International Development, and the European Union) of an 
Economic Management Capacity Building Project. 
JETER