The United States (U.S.) and Nigeria have commenced a fresh round of talks in Washington, D.C., with security cooperation and counterterrorism measures featuring prominently on the agenda.
National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, led the Nigerian delegation at Wednesday’s meeting, while the U.S. Under-Secretary of State, Allison Hooker, headed the American team.
Among the Nigerian officials at the meeting were the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa; and Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
Discussions focused on counterterrorism efforts, progress in bilateral cooperation and the next steps required to strengthen collaboration between both countries.
A bilateral defence meeting between Nigeria and the U.S. is also scheduled for Thursday.
The joint working group was established following President Donald Trump’s decision to redesignate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC).
The two countries previously held the inaugural meeting of the group in Abuja in January as part of efforts to deepen cooperation on security and other areas of mutual interest.
Both governments have reiterated their commitment to protecting religious freedom and advancing fundamental rights in Nigeria, including freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and freedom of religion or belief.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Government has raised concerns over Nigeria’s fiscal transparency, saying the country has made limited progress in providing comprehensive information on government revenues and expenditures.
In its 2026 Fiscal Transparency Report, published on Tuesday by the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. said Nigeria had made some key fiscal documents publicly available but failed to provide a comprehensive picture of government revenues and expenditures.
The report also raised concerns over discrepancies between Nigeria’s approved budget and its actual implementation.
It stated that “actual revenues and expenditures did not reasonably correspond to those in the enacted budget,” adding that the Nigerian Government did not publish accessible information on public procurement contracts.
The U.S. also criticised Nigeria’s supreme audit institution, saying it did not meet international standards for independence or for publishing substantive reports, despite having access to the country’s entire executed budget.
On public procurement, the report said Nigeria continued to face transparency challenges, particularly regarding public access to information on government contracts.
However, the U.S. acknowledged some areas of progress, noting that Nigeria had made information on debt obligations, including major state-owned enterprise debt, publicly available.
It also noted that Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund had a sound legal framework and disclosed information on its funding and general approach to withdrawals.
The report further stated that the Nigerian Government had established legal criteria and procedures for awarding natural resource extraction contracts and licences and generally followed existing regulations in practice.
To improve fiscal transparency, the U.S. Government recommended that Nigeria make its executive budget proposal widely and easily accessible to the public, including through online platforms.
