The International Monetary Fund has revealed that Nigeria’s Federal Government neglected to include public expenditures totaling nearly two percent of the nation’s GDP in recent budget records. This discrepancy creates a significant gap between the government’s official fiscal deficit figures and its real financing requirements.
Christian Ebeke, the IMF Resident Representative for Nigeria, presented these findings during a session with business leaders in Lagos. With Nigeria’s 2025 nominal GDP standing at N441.5 trillion, the N8.83 trillion in missing data suggests that a substantial portion of capital projects was conducted outside the standard budgetary process. Ebeke noted that these off-budget expenditures hinder the ability of policymakers to fully understand the government’s fiscal obligations and disrupt the coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities.
The IMF official highlighted that such omissions complicate the assessment of public investment and raise concerns regarding transparency and accountability. While acknowledging that Nigerian authorities have started revising budget laws to integrate this spending, Ebeke emphasized that updated implementation reports are necessary to rectify the issue. This update follows the recent IMF Article IV consultation, which praised Nigeria’s macroeconomic reforms while warning that the economy remains susceptible to external shocks.
