FG to IMF: ‘You should have provided evidence’ for off-budget spending claim

The federal government of Nigeria asserts that the assertion made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), that Nigeria left out certain amounts of its public expenditure in its recent budgets is wrong and misleading the people about the financial management of the government.

The resident representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, in his statement on Wednesday, stated that this off-balance sheet expenditure accounts for 2 percent of GDP and therefore implies that the fiscal deficit of Nigeria looks much smaller than what the government actually borrows.

Following this allegation made on Sunday, Taiwo Oyedele, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy of Nigeria, denied the existence of any shadow budget in the federal government of Nigeria.

“Accordingly, Federal Government expenditure is incurred pursuant to duly enacted Appropriation Acts, Supplementary Appropriation Acts, and other statutory authorities enacted by the National Assembly,” he said.

“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.

“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.

“For the purpose of public education, it is important to distinguish between appropriation, expenditure authorisation, financing, and fiscal reporting.”

Oyedele said 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,” he said.

“Capital expenditure approved in separate budgets for some agencies and the Federal Capital Territory by the National Assembly. Special interventions approved by law to address national priorities such as security, infrastructure, disaster response, and other strategic national programmes or emergencies.

“Debt service obligations and other statutory transfers that are authorised under applicable legislation.”

The minister said the expenditures are neither secret nor illegal, as 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.

“It is equally incorrect to suggest that the reported amount represents an increase in budget 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.”

Oyedele said the government is working towards aligning budget presentation and international fiscal reporting standards through ongoing public financial management reforms.

“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.

“As a matter of fact, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR had himself formally requested the National Assembly to end the practice of running multiple and overlapping budgets, and rather harmonise into a single, cohesive framework during his presentation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 19, 2025.”

The minister assured that the government is firmly committed to prudent fiscal management, transparency and accountability, with reforms significantly strengthening public financial management with ongoing improvements in budget assumptions and credibility, transparent revenue administration, digitalisation of government financial processes, and stronger treasury management.

He said the reforms have been acknowledged by the IMF, other multilateral institutions, and international credit rating agencies, major media organisations and investors.

Oyedele added that public debate is both welcome and essential in a democratic society, however, he said it should be based on facts and an accurate understanding of Nigeria’s constitutional and fiscal framework.

“Mischaracterising technical observations as evidence of unlawful expenditure neither advances informed public discourse nor strengthens democratic accountability,” the minister said.

“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.”

The presidential candidate from the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, had urged the incumbent president Bola Tinubu to resign on the account of the alleged off-budget spending.

Moreover, the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the allegation.