The Nigerian government is expected to lose US$4 million from a World Bank credit after failing to meet auditing standards for revenue reforms involving the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigeria Customs Service, according to a June 2025 World Bank restructuring paper.
The $4 million was earmarked under the Fiscal Governance and Institutions Project, a $103 million initiative funded through the International Development Association.
The issue lies with the revenue assurance audit covering fiscal years 2018–2021. The Office of the Auditor-General submitted reports that did not meet the World Bank’s international auditing standards and were thus ruled insufficient by the independent verification agent. As a consequence, this audit objective—worth $4 million—has been deemed “not achieved,” triggering the forfeiture.
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In total, the Ministry of Finance has requested cancellation of $10.4 million in project funds that will go unused by the project’s close date (June 30, 2025). This includes $9.5 million linked to unmet performance-based conditions and $0.9 million in unutilised technical assistance funds. With a prior restructuring in June 2024 that reduced the project’s funding from $125 million to $103 million, the remaining active funding now stands at $92.6 million.
Although a funding setback, the World Bank acknowledged progress in other project areas. Non-oil revenue performance exceeded expectations—achieving 153% of the 2024 target, up from 64.9% in 2018—credited to exchange rate liberalisation, the TaxProMax system, and automated revenue remittances.
The Corporate Affairs Commission also launched an electronic register covering 40% of registered businesses. However, capital expenditure execution remains weak at 50% (versus a 65% target), with project monitoring and evaluation rated moderately unsatisfactory
