Nigeria tackles IMF, denies spending ₦8tn outside appropriation

THE Federal Government has denied claims that it spent approximately two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), amounting to over ₦8 trillion outside the 2026 approved budget.

It described the reports as inaccurate and a misrepresentation of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) 2026 Article IV Consultation Report.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday, by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele.

The rebuttal follows disclosures by IMF that Nigeria failed to report about two per cent of GDP in recent official budgets, masking the country’s true financing needs and making the fiscal deficit appear smaller than it actually was.

Speaking in Lagos recently, IMF Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian 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.”

Reacting, the Nigerian government said public finance framework operates strictly under legislative approval, noting that multi-year capital projects spanning multiple budgets or statutory transfers are recognised features of public financial management and should not be misconstrued as extra-budgetary spending.

“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80 – 83 and 162 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), public funds may only be withdrawn and expended in accordance with the Constitution and laws enacted by the National Assembly,” the government said.

The minister outlined several statutory transfers, first-line charges, and independent agency mechanisms established by Acts of the National Assembly. These expenditures, he noted, are neither secret nor illegal, though their reporting format sometimes differs from the annual Appropriation Act to meet international statistical standards.

According to the government, these established mechanisms include statutory allocations and contributions to development commissions, the cost of collection and administration retained by revenue agencies, capital expenditure approved in separate budgets for specific agencies and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), special interventions for national priorities like security and infrastructure, and debt service obligations authorised under applicable legislation.

Oyedele stated that classification and presentation differences under international reporting standards should not be misrepresented as evidence of unlawful expenditure.

“It is inaccurate to suggest that trillions of naira have been secretly spent outside legislative approval. 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 said.

The minister also rejected claims that the ₦8 trillion figure represented an increase in the country’s budget deficit, explaining further that a fiscal deficit is strictly determined by the relationship between total government revenues and total government expenditures. “Whether a project is financed through annual appropriations, supplementary appropriations, statutory transfers, or approved intervention mechanisms, the choice of lawful financing arrangement does not inherently alter or increase the fiscal deficit balance.”

He then emphasised that the IMF’s observations related primarily to the comprehensiveness, timing, and presentation of fiscal reporting rather than the legality of expenditure. He noted that Nigeria is actively working to align its budget presentation closer with international fiscal reporting standards as part of ongoing public financial management reforms.

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According to him, President Bola Tinubu had asked the National Assembly to end the practice of running multiple and overlapping budgets and instead adopt a harmonised budget framework during the presentation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 19, 2025.

“The Federal Government will continue to uphold the rule of law, maintain transparency in the management of public resources, and work with the National Assembly, oversight institutions, development partners and the Nigerian people to further strengthen fiscal governance in line with international best practices,”