The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Nigeria’s recent budget documents and implementation reports omit public spending equivalent to about 2% of GDP. The IMF describes this as a discrepancy that creates a gap between the fiscal deficit shown in official figures and the financing needs implied by actual spending.
IMF resident representative Christian Ebeke says some capital expenditure is not recorded in the budgets, including spending linked to large government projects carried out off-budget. Because of these omissions, the government’s fiscal position and public investment levels are harder to assess accurately. The IMF also says incomplete fiscal reporting complicates coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities, since policymakers may not have a full picture of borrowing and funding requirements.
Ebeke says Nigerian authorities are responding by repealing and revising recent budget laws to incorporate previously unrecorded expenditure, and that updated budget implementation reports are still needed to fully reflect the changes. The IMF links better reporting and fiscal transparency to stronger oversight and procurement accountability, while also noting that recent macroeconomic reforms have improved stability and investor confidence, even as broader living standards gains remain limited and vulnerable to external shocks.
