8.8 Trillion Naira Mystery: Tinubu Administration Rejects Claims Of Secret Spending!.

Denial of “Shadow Budget” Claims: The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Finance, has formally rejected allegations that it spent over ₦8 trillion outside of the approved national budget.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

• Clarification of Fiscal Procedures: Minister of Finance Taiwo Oyedele emphasized that the government adheres to constitutional and statutory frameworks—specifically Sections 80–83 and 162 of the 1999 Constitution—when managing public funds.

• Explanation of Financial Reporting: The ministry clarified that expenditures such as statutory transfers, first-line charges, and multi-year capital projects are legal and subject to oversight, even if their reporting classification differs from the annual Appropriation Act due to international standards.

• Challenge to Critics: The government challenged those making these allegations to provide verifiable evidence and identify specific projects that were purportedly executed without legislative or legal authorization.

• Clarification on Fiscal Deficit: The ministry stated that the method of financing a project—whether through annual budgets, statutory transfers, or intervention mechanisms—does not automatically increase the nation’s fiscal deficit.

• Alignment with International Standards: According to the statement, the recent observations by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concerned the presentation and timing of fiscal reports rather than the legality of the spending, and the government is actively working to align its budget reporting with international standards.

• Commitment to Transparency: The government highlighted President Bola Tinubu’s December 2025 request to the National Assembly to transition to a single, cohesive budget framework and reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to fiscal accountability and digitalization.