The Federal Government has pushed back against claims that more than ₦8 trillion was spent outside the 2025 budget, insisting that every kobo of public expenditure was carried out in line with the Constitution and existing laws.
In a statement released on Sunday, Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, said reports alleging that about ₦8 trillion – roughly two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – was spent without legislative approval were based on a misinterpretation of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) 2026 Article IV Consultation Report.
According to the Minister, the Federal Government does not operate a “shadow budget” and has not spent public funds outside the legal budgetary process.
Oyedele explained that Sections 80 to 83 and 162 of the 1999 Constitution clearly stipulate that public funds can only be withdrawn and spent in accordance with the Constitution and laws enacted by the National Assembly. He noted that government spending is executed through duly approved Appropriation Acts, Supplementary Appropriation Acts and other statutory authorisations.
He further clarified that multi-year capital projects are implemented under existing legal provisions and approved capital rollovers where necessary, stressing that such expenditures should not be mistaken for spending outside the approved budget.
The Minister also dismissed suggestions of secret or unlawful expenditure, challenging those making the allegations to provide evidence of specific projects that were allegedly executed without appropriation or legal backing.
“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. To be meaningful, assertions of this magnitude must be supported by verifiable facts rather than conjecture,” Oyedele said.
The Ministry also explained that Nigeria’s public finance system accommodates statutory transfers, first-line charges and intervention mechanisms established through Acts of the National Assembly. These include statutory allocations to development commissions and agencies, revenue collection costs retained by designated agencies, separate capital budgets for some agencies and the Federal Capital Territory, special interventions for national priorities such as security and infrastructure, as well as debt servicing obligations.
According to the statement, all such expenditures are lawful, publicly disclosed and subject to oversight, auditing and accountability mechanisms, although their presentation in fiscal reports may differ from how they appear in the annual Appropriation Act because of international reporting standards.
The Federal Government also rejected claims that the reported ₦8 trillion represented an increase in Nigeria’s fiscal deficit, explaining that fiscal deficits are determined by the relationship between total government revenue and expenditure, not by the financing mechanism adopted for approved projects.
It added that the IMF’s observations were focused on the comprehensiveness, timing and presentation of fiscal reporting rather than the legality of government spending.
The Ministry recalled that President Bola Tinubu had already urged the National Assembly to harmonise multiple and overlapping budgets into a single framework while presenting the 2026 Appropriation Bill on December 19, 2025.
It maintained that the Tinubu administration remains committed to prudent fiscal management, transparency and accountability, pointing to ongoing reforms in budget credibility, revenue administration, digitalisation of government financial processes and treasury management.
The statement urged Nigerians to base public discussions on verified facts and a proper understanding of the country’s fiscal framework, warning against portraying technical observations contained in the IMF report as evidence of unlawful government spending.
