FG denies spending ₦8tn outside budget, says IMF report misrepresented

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The Federal Government has dismissed claims that it spent more than ₦8 trillion outside the 2026 budget, describing the reports as inaccurate and a misrepresentation of the International Monetary Fund’s 2026 Article IV Consultation Report.

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The government said the allegations, which referenced comments attributed to the IMF Representative in Nigeria and the Fund’s report, wrongly suggested that about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product was expended outside the approved budget.

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This was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele.

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The rebuttal comes after IMF disclosed that Nigeria left public spending equivalent to about 2% of GDP unreported in recent official budgets, obscuring the country’s true financing needs and making the fiscal deficit appear smaller than it actually was.

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Speaking in Lagos, IMF Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, said, “So far we think that there are about two per cent of GDP of expenditure that were not reported that should be reported and should be recorded, so that this statistical discrepancy will disappear.”

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Reacting, opposition figures, including Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the National Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of entrenched corruption and called for probe.n

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But Oyedele said the Federal Government does not operate a “shadow budget” or spend public funds outside the constitutional and statutory framework.

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“The Federal Government has noted recent public commentary alleging that approximately two per cent of GDP amounting to over ₦8 trillion was spent outside the approved budget based on references to the IMF Representative in Nigeria and the Fund’s 2026 Article IV Consultation Report.

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“These claims are incorrect and risk misleading the public regarding the government’s financial management,” the statement said.

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Oyedele explained that under Sections 80 to 83 and 162 of the 1999 Constitution, public funds could only be withdrawn and spent in accordance with the Constitution and laws enacted by the National Assembly.

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He said Federal Government spending was undertaken through duly enacted Appropriation Acts, Supplementary Appropriation Acts and other statutory authorities approved by the National Assembly.

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The minister added that multi-year capital projects implemented across different budget cycles and approved capital rollovers were recognised components of public financial management and should not be misconstrued as spending outside the budget.

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“It is inaccurate to suggest that trillions of naira have been secretly spent outside legislative approval. Such allegations should have identified the specific projects purportedly executed without appropriation or legal authority and present credible evidence in support of the claim,” he said.

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Oyedele also clarified that statutory transfers, debt service obligations, first-line charges and intervention mechanisms established by Acts of the National Assembly formed part of Nigeria’s public finance framework.

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He listed statutory allocations to development commissions, revenue collection costs retained by designated agencies, separately approved capital budgets for some agencies and the Federal Capital Territory, security and infrastructure interventions, disaster response programmes, and debt servicing obligations among expenditures authorised by law.

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“These expenditures are neither secret nor illegal. They are established by law, disclosed in various fiscal reports, and subject to applicable oversight, audit and accountability mechanisms,” he stated.

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The minister further rejected suggestions that the reported amount represented an increase in Nigeria’s fiscal deficit.

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“A fiscal deficit is determined by the relationship between total government revenues and total government expenditures. Whether a capital project is financed through annual appropriations, supplementary appropriations, statutory transfers, approved intervention mechanisms, or other lawful financing arrangements does not, by itself, increase the fiscal deficit,” he added.

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He said the IMF’s observations focused on improving the comprehensiveness, timing and presentation of fiscal reporting rather than questioning the legality of government expenditure.

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According to him, Tinubu had already asked the National Assembly during the presentation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill on December 19, 2025, to end the practice of operating multiple and overlapping budgets and instead adopt a single, harmonised budget framework.

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Oyedele said the Federal Government remained committed to prudent fiscal management, transparency and accountability, noting that recent reforms had strengthened budget credibility, revenue administration, treasury management and the digitalisation of government financial processes.

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“The Federal Government will continue to uphold the rule of law, maintain transparency in the management of public resources, and work with the National Assembly, oversight institutions, development partners and the Nigerian people to further strengthen fiscal governance in line with international best practices,” he added.

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He urged members of the public to base debates on accurate facts and a proper understanding of Nigeria’s constitutional and fiscal framework, warning that misrepresenting technical observations as evidence of unlawful expenditure undermined informed public discourse.

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