FG dismisses claims of N8 trillion spending outside 2026 budget

The Federal Government has dismissed reports that it spent more than N8 trillion outside the 2026 approved budget, describing the claims as inaccurate and a misrepresentation of the International Monetary Fund’s 2026 Article IV Consultation Report.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, issued the rebuttal in a statement he released on Sunday.

Oyedele said the allegations wrongly suggested that about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product was expended outside the approved budget in a manner that contradicted the country’s constitutional and statutory framework.

The pushback comes after IMF Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, said in Lagos that roughly two per cent of GDP in government expenditure had not been reported in official budgets, creating a statistical discrepancy that made Nigeria’s fiscal deficit appear smaller than it actually was.

What the FG is saying

Oyedele said the Federal Government does not operate a shadow budget or spend public funds outside the constitutional and statutory framework, calling the claims legally and factually incorrect.

• “The Federal Government has noted recent public commentary alleging that approximately two per cent of GDP amounting to over ₦8 trillion was spent outside the approved budget based on references to the IMF Representative in Nigeria and the Fund’s 2026 Article IV Consultation Report. These claims are incorrect and risk misleading the public regarding the government’s financial management,” the statement said.

He explained that under Sections 80 to 83 and 162 of the 1999 Constitution, public funds can only be withdrawn and spent in accordance with the Constitution and laws enacted by the National Assembly, with Federal Government spending undertaken through duly enacted Appropriation Acts, Supplementary Appropriation Acts and other statutory authorities approved by the legislature.

Oyedele said multi-year capital projects implemented across different budget cycles and approved capital rollovers are recognised components of public financial management and should not be misconstrued as spending outside the budget.

• “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.

He listed statutory transfers, debt service obligations, first-line charges and intervention mechanisms established by Acts of the National Assembly as among the expenditures authorised by law.

• “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,” he stated.

Oyedele also rejected suggestions that the reported spending represented an increase in Nigeria’s fiscal deficit.

• “A fiscal deficit is 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,” he said.

More insights

Oyedele said the IMF’s observations were about improving the comprehensiveness and presentation of fiscal reporting rather than questioning the legality of the government’s expenditure.

He noted that President Tinubu had already asked the National Assembly during the presentation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill on December 19, 2025, to end the practice of operating multiple and overlapping budgets and instead adopt a single, harmonised budget framework, signalling that the government had itself acknowledged the reporting gap before the IMF’s observations became public.

He said recent reforms had strengthened budget credibility, revenue administration, treasury management and the digitalisation of government financial processes, framing the IMF’s comments as part of an ongoing improvement process rather than a damning indictment of fiscal governance.

What you should know

The IMF’s comments, which triggered the controversy, were made by Resident Representative Christian Ebeke, and reported by Nairametrics.

Ebeke said the Fund believed about two per cent of GDP in expenditure had gone unreported in recent official budgets, obscuring Nigeria’s true financing needs and making the fiscal deficit appear smaller than it actually was.

Nairametrics also reported that this report has triggered a widespread debate among Nigerians who took to social media to air their minds over the matter.