Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele has refuted the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) position, as well as the attendant public commentary that the federal government spent approximately two per cent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP), translating to over N8 trillion outside approved budgets.
The minister’s rebuttal followed the recent Article IV Consultation Report on Nigeria as well as the disclosure by the IMF Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, that the government left public spending, equivalent to about two 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 who spoke during a recent event in Lagos had 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 stance, some leading political figures in the country, including the former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, and the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Peter Obi, among others, had not only condemned the federal government, but demanded an inquiry into the IMF revelation.
While Atiku Abubakar called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to initiate an inquest into the allegation that the federal government omitted public spending worth two per cent of GDP from recent budgets, Obi on his part alleged that the growing revelations of “grand corruption” under the current administration has made President Bola Tinubu’s continued stay in office untenable.
He argued that the violation of fundamental rules of public finance management poses a severe threat to national security and the stability of Nigeria.
“The capture of the Nigerian state and the plunder of its resources undermine the foundation of state stability, deepen poverty and risk state failure,” he said.
But reacting to the issues raised by the IMF, Atiku, Obi and other individuals and groups, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele flawed the 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 includes 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 was 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.
