The Federal Government has dismissed claims by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Nigeria spent approximately two per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), estimated at over ₦8 trillion, outside approved budgets, insisting that all public expenditure is carried out within the country’s constitutional and legal framework.
The clarification followed comments contained in the IMF’s 2026 Article IV Consultation Report and remarks by the Fund’s Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, who stated that government expenditure equivalent to about two per cent of GDP had not been reflected in official budgets.
According to Ebeke, the omission created a statistical discrepancy that understated Nigeria’s actual financing needs and made the fiscal deficit appear smaller than it truly was.
“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.
The IMF’s position sparked widespread reactions, including calls by former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the alleged omission of public spending from recent budgets.
Responding in a statement issued on Sunday, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, described the claims and subsequent public commentary as inaccurate and misleading.
He insisted that the Federal Government does not operate any form of “shadow budget” or spend public funds outside the provisions of the Constitution and laws enacted by the National Assembly.
“These claims are incorrect and risk misleading the public regarding the government’s financial management,” Oyedele said.
“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The minister cited Sections 80 to 83 and Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, stating that public funds can only be withdrawn and spent in accordance with constitutional provisions and Acts passed by the National Assembly.
He explained that government expenditure is undertaken through duly enacted Appropriation Acts, Supplementary Appropriation Acts and other statutory authorisations approved by lawmakers.
According to him, capital projects that span multiple budget cycles are also implemented in line with existing laws governing capital rollovers and should not be interpreted as spending outside the budget.
“These are recognised features of public financial management and should not be misconstrued as expenditures outside the budget,” he said.
Oyedele further argued that allegations suggesting trillions of naira had been secretly spent without legislative approval lacked supporting evidence.
He maintained that claims of such magnitude should identify specific projects allegedly executed without appropriation and provide verifiable facts rather than speculation.
The minister also sought to distinguish between appropriation, expenditure authorisation, financing and fiscal reporting, noting that Nigeria’s public finance framework contains several statutory transfers and first-line charges established by Acts of the National Assembly.
He listed statutory allocations to development commissions and other government agencies, cost-of-collection arrangements for designated revenue-generating agencies, separately approved capital budgets for certain agencies and the Federal Capital Territory, as well as legally approved interventions for infrastructure, security, disaster response and strategic national priorities.
Debt service obligations and other statutory transfers authorised by law also form part of government expenditure, 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,” Oyedele said.
He acknowledged that while the presentation of some expenditures may differ under international fiscal reporting standards adopted by the government, such classification differences should not be interpreted as evidence of unlawful spending.
The minister also rejected suggestions that the alleged unreported expenditure automatically translated into a higher fiscal deficit.
According to him, the fiscal deficit is determined by the relationship between total government revenue and total government expenditure, irrespective of the financing mechanism used.
“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 explained.
Oyedele added that the IMF’s observations primarily related to the comprehensiveness, timing and presentation of fiscal reporting rather than the legality of government expenditure.
He noted that Nigeria, like many other countries, is continually strengthening the alignment between its budget presentation and international fiscal reporting standards as part of ongoing public financial management reforms.