The Federal Government has dismissed allegations that it spent over ₦8 trillion outside the 2026 budget, insisting the claims stem from a misinterpretation of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Article IV Consultation Report.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, clarified in a statement on Sunday that suggestions of unreported expenditure amounting to two per cent of Nigeria’s GDP were inaccurate and misleading.
The IMF had noted discrepancies in Nigeria’s fiscal reporting, with its Resident Representative, Christian Ebeke, stating that about two per cent of GDP in spending was not captured in official budgets.
Opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, seized on the report to accuse President Bola Tinubu’s administration of corruption and demanded investigations.
Oyedele, however, stressed that the government does not operate a “shadow budget” and that all spending is carried out under constitutional and statutory frameworks.
He explained that appropriations, supplementary budgets, statutory transfers, debt servicing, and
