Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja
The federal government has debunked recent position of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the attendant public commentary that it spent approximately two per rcent of gross domestic product (GDP) or over ₦8 trillion outside approved budgets.
The rebuttal by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele followed the recent Article IV Consultation Report on Nigeria as well as the disclosure by the IMF Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, that Nigeria left public spending, equivalent to about 2 per cent of GDP unreported in recent official budgets, thereby obscuring the country’s true financing needs and making the fiscal deficit appear smaller than it actually was.
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.”
Following the IMF’s position, some leading political figures in the country, including the former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe the allegation that the federal government omitted public spending worth two per cent of GDP from recent budgets.
But, in a statement issued on Sunday, Oyedele flawed recent public commentary based on references to the IMF Resident Representative in Nigeria and the Fund’s 2026 Article IV Consultation Report.
He said, “These claims are incorrect and risk misleading the public regarding the government’s financial management
“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.
“Under Sections 80 – 83 and 162 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), public funds may only be withdrawn and expended in accordance with the Constitution and laws enacted by the National Assembly. “Accordingly, Federal Government expenditure is incurred pursuant to duly enacted Appropriation Acts, Supplementary Appropriation Acts, and other statutory authorities enacted by the National Assembly.
“In addition, multi-year capital projects which necessarily span multiple budgets are implemented in accordance with extant laws and approved provisions for capital rollovers where applicable.
“These are recognised features of public financial management and should not be misconstrued as expenditures outside the budget.”
Oyedele argued that it was inaccurate to suggest that trillions of naira have been secretly spent outside legislative approval, adding that 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 noted that to be meaningful, assertions of this magnitude must be supported by verifiable facts rather than conjecture.
Continuing, the minister explained that for the purpose of public education, it was important to distinguish between appropriation, expenditure authorisation, financing, and fiscal reporting.
According to him, Nigeria’s public finance framework contains several statutory transfers, first-line charges and intervention mechanisms established by Acts of the National Assembly.
These include, among others, statutory allocations and contributions to development commissions and other agencies created by law, cost of collection and cost of administration retained by designated revenue-collecting agencies as expressly provided under relevant legislation.
It also include capital expenditure approved in separate budgets for some agencies and the Federal Capital Territory by the National Assembly.
The minister stated that special interventions approved by law to address national priorities such as security, infrastructure, disaster response, and other strategic national programmes or emergencies, as well as debt service obligations and other statutory transfers that are authorised under applicable legislation also form part of the pack.
He added, “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.
“Their treatment for reporting purposes may differ from their presentation in the annual Appropriation Act, particularly under international statistical and reporting standards adopted by the Federal Government.
“Such classification differences should not be misrepresented as evidence of unlawful expenditure,” he said.
The minister also noted that it was incorrect to suggest that the reported amount represents an increase in budget deficit, arguing that 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.
“Indeed, the IMF’s observation relates primarily to the comprehensiveness, timing and presentation of fiscal reporting rather than the legality of expenditure. Like many countries, Nigeria continues to strengthen the alignment between budget presentation and international fiscal reporting standards as part of ongoing public financial management reforms,” he said.
