By Godswill Michael
The Federal Government has dismissed claims that more than ₦8 trillion was spent outside the approved budget, insisting that recent interpretations of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) 2026 Article IV Consultation Report misrepresented the Fund’s observations and wrongly suggested the existence of a “shadow budget.”
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, described assertions that about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—estimated at over ₦8 trillion—was spent outside the budget as false and misleading.
“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. These claims are incorrect and risk misleading the public regarding the government’s financial management,” the statement said.
The ministry added: “For the avoidance of doubt, the Federal Government does not operate a ‘shadow budget’ or expend public funds outside the constitutional and statutory framework established for public finance.”
The government’s response followed recent remarks by IMF Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, who stated that the Fund had identified public expenditure equivalent to about two per cent of GDP that was not reflected in official budget reporting.
Speaking in Lagos, 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.”
According to the IMF, the omission made Nigeria’s fiscal deficit appear smaller than its actual financing requirements.
The disclosure triggered criticism from opposition figures, including the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, who argued that the reported expenditure—estimated by him at about ₦8.83 trillion—was incurred outside the approved budgetary framework.
Obi described the development as “horrible,” saying, “The IMF now reveals that about ₦8.83 trillion in expenditure undertaken in 2025 is not reflected in the budget. This expenditure is not budgeted and is therefore not under legislative oversight or administrative scrutiny.”
He further alleged that the development reflected “a pattern of grand corruption” and renewed his call for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to resign.
Responding to the allegations, the Federal Government maintained that all public expenditure is backed by law and legislative approval, in line with Sections 80–83 and 162 of the 1999 Constitution.
According to the ministry, federal spending is undertaken through Appropriation Acts, Supplementary Appropriation Acts, and other statutory authorities enacted by the National Assembly. It added that multi-year capital projects are executed under approved rollover provisions where applicable.
“It is inaccurate to suggest that trillions of naira have been secretly spent outside legislative approval,” the statement said.
“Such allegations should have identified the specific projects purportedly executed without appropriation or legal authority and present credible evidence in support of the claim. To be meaningful, assertions of this magnitude must be supported by verifiable facts rather than conjecture,” it added.
The ministry further explained that Nigeria’s public finance framework includes statutory transfers, first-line charges, debt service obligations, intervention funds, and other expenditures authorised by Acts of the National Assembly, stressing that these are “neither secret nor illegal.”
It noted that differences between the presentation of such expenditures in annual budgets and their treatment under international fiscal reporting standards should not be interpreted as evidence of unlawful spending.
The government also rejected suggestions that the reported amount represented an increase in Nigeria’s fiscal deficit, explaining that the deficit is determined by the relationship between total government revenue and expenditure, rather than by the financing method used for individual projects.
According to the ministry, the IMF’s observations “relate primarily to the comprehensiveness, timing and presentation of fiscal reporting rather than the legality of expenditure.”
It added that Nigeria is already working to align its budget presentation with international fiscal reporting standards as part of ongoing public financial management reforms.
The statement also recalled that President Bola Tinubu, while presenting the 2026 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly on December 19, 2025, had called for an end to the practice of running multiple and overlapping budgets, urging their harmonisation into a single fiscal framework.
Reaffirming its commitment to transparency and accountability, the Federal Government said reforms in treasury management, digitalisation of financial processes, and revenue administration have strengthened public financial management and earned recognition from the IMF and other international institutions.
The government urged Nigerians to base public debate on verified facts, warning that “mischaracterising technical observations as evidence of unlawful expenditure neither advances informed public discourse nor strengthens democratic accountability.”