News Investigators/ Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, says the Federal Government does not operate a shadow budget.
Mr Oyedele, who said this in a statement on Monday in Abuja, also said that the government does not expend public funds outside the constitutional and statutory framework established for public finance.
The minister was reacting to claims by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) office in Nigeria.
The IMF Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, had said that the country failed to formally record public spending equivalent to two per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in recent official budgets.
Ebeke indicated that the discrepancy largely involved massive government infrastructure projects executed entirely outside the formal budget framework.
He said that the practice artificially lowered Nigeria’s official fiscal deficit figures while masking its true financing needs and reducing fiscal transparency.
According to Oyedele the Federal Government has noted recent public commentary alleging that approximately two per cent of GDP amounting to over eight trillion Naira was spent outside the approved budget.
“These claims are incorrect and risk misleading the public regarding the government’s financial management.
“Under Sections 80 – 83 and 162 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), public funds may only be withdrawn and expended in accordance with the Constitution and laws enacted by the National Assembly.
“Accordingly, Federal Government expenditure is incurred pursuant to duly enacted Appropriation Acts, Supplementary Appropriation Acts, and other statutory authorities enacted by the National Assembly.
“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,” he said.
The minister said that 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,” he said.
Oyedele said that for the purpose of public education, it is important to distinguish between appropriation, expenditure authorisation, financing, and fiscal reporting.
He said Nigeria’s public finance framework contained several statutory transfers, first-line charges and intervention mechanisms established by Acts of the National Assembly.
He listed statutory allocations and contributions to development commissions and other agencies created by law, and cost of collection and cost of administration retained by designated revenue-collecting agencies as expressly provided under relevant legislation.
Others are capital expenditure approved in separate budgets for some agencies and the Federal Capital Territory by the National Assembly.
There is also special interventions approved by law to address national priorities, and debt service obligations and other statutory transfers that are authorised under applicable legislation.
“These expenditures are neither secret nor illegal. 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.
NAN
