An eye-popping alleged sum of about N8.8trillion said to have been spent outside the 2025 budget by the President Bola Tinubu administration, today sparked a fierce war of words between opposition heavyweight/presidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, and the Federal Government (FG) with the matter sparking intense anger in social media.
Obi accused the administration of presiding over what he described as “grand corruption,” citing the alleged amount as being in unbudgeted expenditure highlighted in a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) 2026 Article IV Consultation Report.
However, in a swift reaction, the FG described the interpretation by Obi and others as a misrepresentation of the Fund’s report.
In a statement titled ‘Grand Corruption: Nigeria’s Greatest Threat’, posted on his X account on Sunday, 5 July, the NDC flagbearer claimed the reported expenditure was not captured in the 2025 budget, arguing that it was therefore outside legislative oversight and administrative scrutiny.
According to him, the N8.83 trillion represents about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), more than 35 per cent of the country’s 2025 capital budget of N23.96 trillion, and exceeds the combined allocations for education and health.
Obi said the funds, if properly utilised and accounted for, could have significantly improved public healthcare, education and job creation through the establishment of cottage industries for the immediate and long term benefit of majority ordinary Nigerians.
He alleged that the development was not an isolated case but part of a broader pattern of corruption under the current administration.
He accused the government of trampling on public financial expenditure regulations, warning that such practices threaten national security, deepen poverty and weaken state institutions.
Describing the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration as “grossly corrupt, incompetent and insensitive,” Obi argued that the alleged mismanagement of public resources had worsened the country’s economic and social challenges, driving deeper poverty in the land.
Reiterating an earlier call for Tinubu to resign from office, therefore, Obi said recent developments had reinforced his position that the President should step down over what he described as incompetence, lack of compassion and failure to fulfil campaign promises.
Part of the statement read: “The recent report from the IMF consultation further raises concerns about the scale of grand corruption under the Tinubu government.
“The IMF now reveals that about N8.83 trillion in expenditure undertaken in 2025 is not reflected in the budget. This expenditure is not budgeted and is therefore not under legislative oversight or administrative scrutiny. This is horrible.
“N8.83 trillion is as follows: About 2% of our GDP;
“Over 35% of Nigeria’s 2025 N23.96 trillion capital project budget. In fact, the amount is more than the actual released capital funding for 2025.
“It is more than the entire combined budget for education (N3.52 trillion) and health (N2.38 trillion).
“If such an amount is properly used and accounted for, it could transform Nigeria’s public health and education sectors. It could create hundreds of cottage industries that can provide jobs for thousands of graduates and build a solid foundation for economic development. But we cannot account for it.
“This is not an isolated incident. This is a pattern of grand corruption that has become part of this administration.
“We have a lot to worry about regarding the state of corruption under President Tinubu.
“The sort of corruption that is ingrained in total disregard of elementary rules of public finance management poses a grave danger to national security and the stability of the Nigerian state.”
FG Faults Interpretation Of IMF Report
On its part, the FG dismissed the claims, saying every public expenditure was made within the country’s constitutional and legal framework.
In a statement issued by Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, the Tinubu administration said reports on the alleged corruption pertaining to the money stemmed from a misrepresentation of the report.
The government explained that it does not operate a “shadow budget” or spend public funds without legislative approval.
Pointing to constitutional stipulations, the FG said that under Sections 80 to 83 and 162 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), all public funds can only be withdrawn and spent in accordance with the Constitution and laws passed by the National Assembly.
According to it, government expenditure is undertaken through duly enacted Appropriation Acts, Supplementary Appropriation Acts and other statutory authorisations.
The administration added that multi-year capital projects are implemented under existing laws and approved capital rollovers, where applicable, stressing that such projects should not be interpreted as spending outside the budget.
It further contended that allegations of secret spending lacked evidence, saying anyone making such claims should identify specific projects allegedly executed without appropriation or legal authority, even as Obi’s statement did not mention that the alleged missing money was spent on any particular project but rather was unaccounted for, thus raising concerns.
“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,” Oyedele said.
The FG also clarified that Nigeria’s public finance system includes statutory transfers, first-line charges and intervention mechanisms established by Acts of the National Assembly.
These include statutory allocations to development commissions and agencies, revenue collection costs retained by designated agencies, separate capital budgets for some agencies and the Federal Capital Territory, special interventions for national priorities such as security and infrastructure, as well as debt servicing obligations.
These expenditures are lawful, publicly disclosed and subject to oversight, audit and accountability mechanisms, although their presentation in fiscal reports may differ from their appearance in the annual Appropriation Act due to international reporting standards, it further explained.
The government also rejected suggestions that the reported ₦8 trillion represented an increase in the country’s fiscal deficit, explaining that fiscal deficits are determined by the relationship between total government revenue and expenditure rather than the financing mechanism used for approved projects.
It stated that the IMF’s observations were primarily about the comprehensiveness, timing and presentation of fiscal reporting rather than the legality of government spending.
Oyedele noted that President Tinubu had already asked the National Assembly to harmonise multiple and overlapping budgets into a single framework while presenting the 2026 Appropriation Bill on 19 December, 2025.
It added that the administration remained committed to prudent fiscal management, transparency and accountability, citing ongoing reforms in budget credibility, revenue administration, digitalisation of government financial processes and treasury management.
The statement urged Nigerians to base public debate on verified facts and an accurate understanding of the country’s fiscal framework, warning against misrepresenting technical observations as evidence of unlawful expenditure.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Obi (l) and Tinubu.
