The Federal Government refuted claims it spent over N8 trillion outside the approved budget, describing the allegation as false and a misrepresentation of the 2026 Article IV Consultation Report by the International Monetary Fund, IMF.
the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, stated that reports suggesting trillions of naira had been secretly spent without legislative approval were capable of misleading the public and creating a wrong impression about the country’s public financial management.
He insisted that the Federal Government does not operate a shadow budget or spend public funds outside the constitutional and statutory framework, arguing that those making such allegations had failed to provide credible evidence to support their assertions.
Oyedele explained that government spending is carried out through duly enacted Appropriation Acts, Supplementary Appropriation Acts and other statutory authorities approved by the National Assembly.
He also noted that multi-year capital projects, which span several budget cycles, are implemented under existing laws and approved capital rollover provisions, stressing that such projects should not be misconstrued as expenditure outside the budget.
The minister further clarified that Nigeria’s public finance system includes statutory transfers, first-line charges and intervention mechanisms created by Acts of the National Assembly.
Oyedele also rejected claims that the reported amount represented an increase in Nigeria’s budget deficit noting that IMF’s observation was primarily about the comprehensiveness, timing and presentation of Nigeria’s fiscal reporting rather than the legality of government expenditure.
He added that the Federal Government is already implementing reforms to align budget presentation with international fiscal reporting standards.
The controversy followed reported comments by the IMF’s Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, that the country allegedly failed to record public spending equivalent to about two per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in recent official budgets.
According to the IMF, the omission, linked partly to major government projects executed outside the formal budget framework made Nigeria’s fiscal deficit appear smaller than its actual financing needs and complicated fiscal transparency.
