BY FRONTLINE REPORTERS
The Federal Government has dismissed reports suggesting it spent more than ₦8 trillion outside the approved national budget, insisting that the claim is a misrepresentation of comments made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and does not reflect the country’s constitutional and fiscal realities.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, said reports alleging that the Federal Government operated a “shadow budget” or spent funds without legislative approval were inaccurate and capable of misleading the public.
The controversy followed media reports interpreting observations contained in the IMF’s 2026 Article IV Consultation Report and comments by the Fund’s Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, which suggested that public spending equivalent to about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—estimated at over ₦8 trillion—was not reflected in recent official budgets.
Reacting to the reports, the minister maintained that the Federal Government does not spend public funds outside the constitutional and statutory framework governing public finance. He cited Sections 80–83 and 162 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which stipulate that public funds can only be withdrawn and expended in accordance with the Constitution and laws enacted by the National Assembly.
According to him, every Federal Government expenditure is backed by duly enacted Appropriation Acts, Supplementary Appropriation Acts or other statutory authorisations approved by the National Assembly. He explained that multi-year capital projects implemented across successive budget cycles are executed under existing legal provisions, including approved capital rollover arrangements, and should not be misconstrued as off-budget spending.
“These are recognised features of public financial management and should not be misconstrued as expenditures outside the budget,” he said, adding that allegations of trillions of naira being secretly spent without legislative approval must be supported with verifiable evidence identifying specific projects and the legal basis for such claims.
Edun further explained that Nigeria’s fiscal framework provides for statutory transfers, first-line charges and intervention mechanisms established by Acts of the National Assembly. These include statutory allocations to development commissions and other agencies, revenue collection costs retained by designated agencies, separate capital budgets for certain institutions and the Federal Capital Territory, security and infrastructure interventions, disaster response funding, debt servicing obligations and other statutory transfers.
He stressed that these expenditures are neither secret nor illegal, noting that they are disclosed in official fiscal reports and remain subject to legislative oversight, auditing and accountability processes. According to him, differences between the presentation of such expenditures in annual appropriation laws and international fiscal reporting standards should not be interpreted as evidence of unlawful spending.
The minister also rejected suggestions that the reported amount represented an increase in Nigeria’s fiscal deficit, explaining that a deficit is determined by the gap between government revenue and total expenditure, regardless of whether projects are financed through annual appropriations, supplementary budgets, statutory transfers or other lawful funding mechanisms.
He said the IMF’s observations were largely concerned with improving the comprehensiveness, timing and presentation of Nigeria’s fiscal reporting rather than questioning the legality of government spending. According to him, Nigeria is already implementing reforms to align its budget presentation with international reporting standards.
Edun recalled that President Bola Tinubu, while presenting the 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 19, 2025, advocated a unified budget framework to eliminate multiple and overlapping budgets. He added that ongoing reforms have strengthened budget credibility, revenue administration, treasury management and the digitalisation of public finance, earning recognition from the IMF, other multilateral institutions, international credit rating agencies and investors.
While affirming the importance of public scrutiny in a democratic society, the minister urged commentators to base their arguments on facts and a proper understanding of Nigeria’s constitutional and fiscal framework.
“Mischaracterising technical observations as evidence of unlawful expenditure neither advances informed public discourse nor strengthens democratic accountability,” he said, assuring that the Federal Government would continue to uphold transparency, accountability and the rule of law in managing public resources.
The government’s response came amid mounting criticism from opposition leaders following the IMF’s observations. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the National Assembly and the Auditor-General of the Federation to investigate what he described as about ₦8.8 trillion in off-budget spending allegedly executed without legislative approval or public accountability.
Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi also expressed concern over the report, describing the alleged expenditure as evidence of “grand corruption” and calling for greater transparency and accountability in the management of Nigeria’s public finances.
Although the IMF noted that expenditures linked to major government projects were not fully reflected in recent budget presentations, the Fund also acknowledged that the Federal Government has begun implementing reforms, including revisions to budget laws and improvements in fiscal reporting, to address the reporting gaps and strengthen fiscal transparency.
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