Post by MIRRORED MIND (@Dandy50)

I believe it completely.

Now look at this, for days, Nigerians have argued over the drama surrounding a so-called "ghost agency." But while our attention was fixed on that spectacle, a far more disturbing revelation quietly emerged.

According to Reuters' report on the IMF's latest Article IV Consultation, public expenditure , the IMF's latest assessment of Nigeria's public finances, government expenditures equivalent to about 2% of our GDP were executed outside the official budget framework. If translated into today's economy, that is ₦8.8 trillion.

Pause for a second and check that figure, again, ₦8.8 trillion.

That is not an accounting error. That is not loose change. That's money that is hidden from everyone but caught the attention of the IMF. That's the money being spent off budget. That is money capable of transforming healthcare, education, agriculture, power, roads, security, and the lives of millions of Nigerians.

If public funds can move on that scale outside the budget Nigerians debate every year, then we have a problem far bigger than rising inflation or the removal of fuel subsidies.

For years, citizens have been told to endure hardship because government coffers are empty. Families have watched their purchasing power evaporate. Businesses have collapsed. Parents now choose between paying school fees and putting food on the table.

Yet, if enormous public expenditures can exist outside the budget process, then Nigerians deserve answers.

Who approved them?

Who executed them?

Who monitored them?

Who audited them?

And why were they outside the very budget that the National Assembly painstakingly debates and passes?

Democracy cannot survive on blind trust. Accountability is not optional; it is the price public officials pay for the privilege of managing public resources.

The tragedy is not merely that trillions may have escaped public scrutiny. The tragedy is that many Nigerians have become so accustomed to scandal that we now react with outrage for only a few hours before moving on to the next headline.

We must never normalize opacity.

Whether you support this government or oppose it, one principle should unite us all: every kobo of public money must be traceable, lawful, and accountable.

Nigeria does not have a revenue problem alone.

Nigeria has a governance problem.

And until transparency becomes non-negotiable, the ordinary citizen will continue to pay for a system that refuses to account for itself.

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