Nigeria Finance Minister Denies N8.83 Trillion Off-Budget Spending Allegations

Nigeria's Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has strongly refuted claims that the federal government spent approximately N8.83 trillion outside of its approved budgets. These allegations, which suggest the government spent about two percent of Nigeria's GDP unreported, originated from the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Article IV Consultation Report on Nigeria.

Christian Ebeke, the IMF Resident Representative in Nigeria, had previously stated that approximately two percent of GDP in public spending was not reported, thus obscuring the country's true financing needs and making the fiscal deficit appear smaller. Following this disclosure, prominent political figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and presidential candidate Peter Obi, condemned the government and demanded an investigation.

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These claims are incorrect and risk misleading the public regarding the government’s financial management.

Atiku Abubakar urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe the alleged omission of public spending from recent budgets. Peter Obi went further, alleging that revelations of "grand corruption" under the current administration made President Bola Tinubu's continued leadership untenable, arguing that violations of public finance management rules threaten national security and stability.

Minister Oyedele dismissed these concerns, labeling the public commentary based on the IMF report as incorrect and misleading. He asserted that the federal government does not operate a "shadow budget" or spend public funds outside the constitutional and statutory frameworks. He specifically referenced Sections 80-83 and 162 of Nigeria's 1999 Constitution, which govern the use of public funds.

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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.