The Federal Government has dismissed reports claiming it spent more than ₦8 trillion, estimated at about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), outside the approved 2026 budget.
The government described the claim as misleading, insisting it stemmed from a misunderstanding of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) 2026 Article IV Consultation Report rather than any unlawful spending.
The clarification was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele.
The response followed comments by the IMF suggesting that Nigeria omitted expenditure equivalent to roughly two per cent of its GDP from recent official budgets. According to the Fund, the omission understated the country’s actual financing needs and made the fiscal deficit appear lower than it should have been.
Speaking recently in Lagos, the IMF’s Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, said the organisation believed expenditure amounting to about two per cent of GDP had not been properly reported.
“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,” Ebeke said.
Responding to the remarks, the Federal Government maintained that Nigeria’s public finance system operates within the framework of the law and under the approval of the National Assembly.
It explained that expenditures covering multi-year capital projects, statutory transfers and other legally established funding arrangements are recognised components of public financial management. As such, they should not be interpreted as spending outside the budget.
The government cited Sections 80 to 83 and 162 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), stressing that public funds can only be withdrawn and spent in accordance with constitutional provisions and laws enacted by the National Assembly.
Oyedele said several statutory transfers, first-line charges and funding mechanisms for independent agencies are backed by Acts of the National Assembly. While these expenditures may be presented differently from the annual Appropriation Act to comply with international reporting standards, he said they are neither hidden nor unlawful.
According to him, the affected expenditures include statutory allocations to development commissions, revenue collection costs retained by government agencies, capital projects funded through separate budgets for designated agencies and the Federal Capital Territory, security and infrastructure intervention programmes, as well as debt servicing obligations authorised by law.
The minister argued that differences in classification and reporting under international accounting standards should not be mistaken for evidence of illegal spending.
“It is inaccurate to suggest that trillions of naira have been secretly spent outside legislative approval,” Oyedele said.
He added that anyone making such allegations should identify the specific projects allegedly executed without appropriation and provide credible evidence to support the claims.
The minister also rejected suggestions that the reported ₦8 trillion represented an increase in Nigeria’s fiscal deficit. He explained that a fiscal deficit is determined by the gap between total government revenue and total government expenditure, regardless of the lawful funding mechanism used.
According to him, whether projects are financed through annual budgets, supplementary appropriations, statutory transfers or other legally approved intervention programmes does not automatically increase the country’s fiscal deficit.
Oyedele further noted that the IMF’s observations were focused on improving the completeness, timing and presentation of Nigeria’s fiscal reporting rather than questioning the legality of government spending.
He said the government is already implementing reforms aimed at bringing Nigeria’s budget reporting in line with international fiscal reporting standards.
The minister also recalled that President Bola Tinubu had urged the National Assembly during the presentation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill on December 19, 2025, to discontinue the practice of operating multiple overlapping budgets and instead adopt a unified budget framework.
He reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to transparency, accountability and compliance with the law in managing public resources.
“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,” the statement said.
