Nigeria has forfeited $4 million from a World Bank credit facility after failing to meet the required auditing standards tied to a key fiscal reform. The loss stems from an unapproved revenue assurance audit involving the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigeria Customs Service, part of a broader $103 million governance improvement project.
The audit was one of ten performance-based conditions in the project. Due to the missed target and looming June 30, 2025, deadline, the Federal Ministry of Finance requested the cancellation of $10.4 million in total, including funds for a revenue system, a budget portal, and technical support. This follows a previous cut of $22 million from the original $125 million loan.
Despite this setback, the World Bank acknowledged significant progress in non-oil revenue growth and fiscal data transparency. However, concerns remain over low capital expenditure execution and weaknesses in monitoring and evaluation, which threaten the sustainability of the reforms underway.