Repositioning Development Finance Institutions in Nigeria Through Accountability and Transparency Mechanisms
Abstract
Globally, Development Finance Institutions face significant challenges regarding transparency, especially in their private-sector investments. Nigeria's increasing reliance on non- transparent financial mechanisms is a serious barrier to accurately assessing DFIs' financial health, directly undermining their capacity to deliver inclusive and sustainable development. This study focused on repositioning DFIs in Nigeria through enhanced accountability and transparency mechanisms. Utilizing a historical-descriptive research design, we conducted a thorough content analysis of the 2024 Annual Reports from the Bank of Industry , Development Bank of Nigeria , Bank of Agriculture , and Infrastructure Bank (IB), employing a checklist based on the DFI Transparency Index. We aimed to determine whether a significant difference exists between the public accountability and transparency index of the selected DFIs in Nigeria and the DFI transparency benchmark established by Publish What You Fund . Our analysis, utilizing the population t-test, clearly established that there is a significant difference between the public accountability and transparency indexes of the selected DFIs and the PWYF benchmark scores. It is imperative that DFIs in Nigeria adopt the DFI transparency index from Publish What You Fund. Doing so will significantly enhance the transparency of their operations and improve public disclosure.
Keywords
DFIAccountabilityTransparencyDFI transparency benchmarkPublish What You Fund
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