By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
CLAIMS OF alleged diversion of federation earnings have been dismissed by the Federal Ministry of Finance, which said recent reports misrepresent findings contained in the latest Nigeria Development Update (NDU) by the World Bank (WB).
JKNewsMedia.com reports that a government statement signed by the Minister of State for Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, on April 19, 2026, stated that interpretations suggesting a significant portion of federation earnings is being diverted or treated as hidden spending reflect a misunderstanding of the fiscal system and misread the World Bank’s analysis.
The statement said misreporting had wrongly described deductions by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) as waste or missing funds.
It clarified that such deductions, as presented in the World Bank report, include statutory transfers, savings and investments, security related expenditures, cost of collection charges, refunds to Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and transfers and interventions benefiting subnational governments.
It emphasised that refunds and transfers to states and other tiers of government are not leakages but legitimate fiscal flows, including repayments of obligations and statutorily backed allocations.
The ministry also addressed what it described as selective use of outdated data in some commentaries.
It noted that certain analyses relied on past figures while ignoring forward looking assessments and ongoing public financial management reforms highlighted in the report.
The statement pointed out that the World Bank explicitly recognised reforms implemented in early 2026, including a recently signed Executive Order to safeguard remittance of petroleum revenues.
Oloyede added that these measures are already addressing concerns around deductions and are expected to improve transparency while increasing revenues available to all tiers of government by about 0.4% of GDP annually.
It warned that focusing on a single aspect of the report without acknowledging reforms already introduced to enhance distributable federation revenues presents a distorted picture.
Highlighting broader findings, the ministry said the World Bank report presents a positive and forward looking outlook.
It stated that economic growth is becoming more broad-based across sectors, inflation is declining despite remaining elevated, Nigeria’s external position has strengthened with improved reserves and a current account surplus, and debt indicators have improved with a decline in the debt to GDP ratio for the first time in over a decade.
The statement said these developments reflect outcomes of ongoing macroeconomic policies and public financial management reforms.
It added that the World Bank does not conclude that Nigeria’s fiscal system is collapsing or that reforms have failed, but rather that reforms are working and must be sustained and deepened to translate gains into inclusive growth.
tJKNewsMedia.com also reports that the Federal Government also reiterated its commitment to strengthening fiscal transparency, improving revenue mobilisation, ensuring efficient public spending and deepening reforms to support inclusive economic growth.
The Ministry also urged stakeholders, media organisations and the public to engage constructively with fiscal information and avoid interpretations that could undermine reform efforts and fuel public discord.
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