The Federal Government has dismissed reports suggesting it spent more than ₦8 trillion outside the 2026 Appropriation Act, insisting that the claims misrepresent the findings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and do not reflect Nigeria’s public finance framework.
The clarification follows public debate sparked by comments linked to the IMF’s 2026 Article IV Consultation, which highlighted gaps in the reporting of certain government expenditures.
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In a statement issued on Sunday, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said suggestions that the government operated a “shadow budget” or spent trillions of naira without legislative approval were false.
According to him, all federal expenditure is governed by the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and relevant laws passed by the National Assembly.
“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. These claims are incorrect and risk misleading the public regarding the government’s financial management,” the statement said.
The controversy followed remarks by the IMF’s Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, who said government expenditure equivalent to about two per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product had not been fully reflected in official fiscal reports, creating statistical discrepancies in the country’s budget presentation.
The IMF had indicated that the omission made Nigeria’s fiscal deficit appear smaller than its actual financing requirements and recommended improvements in the comprehensiveness of fiscal reporting.
Reacting to the IMF’s observations, several opposition figures questioned the government’s fiscal transparency and called for investigations into the reported expenditure.
However, the Finance Minister maintained that the IMF did not accuse the government of unlawful spending but rather recommended improvements in how certain categories of expenditure are reported.
He explained that federal spending is carried out through annual appropriation laws, supplementary budgets and other statutory authorizations approved by the National Assembly.
Oyedele noted that multi-year infrastructure projects, capital rollovers and statutory transfers are recognized components of Nigeria’s public financial management system and should not be interpreted as off-budget expenditure.
He further explained that legally authorized expenditures include statutory allocations to government agencies and development commissions, debt servicing obligations, first-line charges, intervention programmes, disaster response funding and approved capital projects executed through existing legal frameworks.
According to him, these expenditures are subject to oversight, auditing and accountability mechanisms and are publicly disclosed through official fiscal reports.
The minister also rejected claims that the reported expenditure automatically translates into a higher fiscal deficit, explaining that government deficits are determined by the relationship between total revenues and total expenditure, regardless of the financing mechanism used for approved projects.
He added that the Tinubu administration has already initiated reforms aimed at consolidating multiple budget frameworks into a single harmonized national budget to improve fiscal transparency and efficiency.
The Finance Minister reiterated the government’s commitment to prudent fiscal management, transparency and accountability, saying ongoing reforms have strengthened revenue administration, treasury management, budget implementation and the digitalization of public financial systems.
He urged Nigerians to rely on accurate information when discussing public finance issues, warning that misinterpreting technical observations contained in international fiscal assessments could create unnecessary public misunderstanding about the country’s financial management.
