By Adedapo Adesanya

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed that Nigeria had about 2 per cent of GDP worth of public spending not recorded in recent official budgets, creating a gap between its reported deficit and actual financing needs.

IMF resident representative in Nigeria, Mr Christian Ebeke, said on Wednesday, during a session with business executives in Lagos, the country’s commercial capital.

The discrepancy means the country’s fiscal deficit appears smaller than the level of borrowing, because some capital spending was not included in budget documents or implementation reports.

Mr Ebeke said these unreported expenditures are linked, in part, to large government projects carried out off-budget, distorting assessments of Nigeria’s fiscal stance and public investment levels.

“So far, we think that there are about 2 per cent of GDP of expenditure that were not reported that should be reported and should be recorded, so that this statistical discrepancy will disappear,” said Mr Ebeke.

The lack of full reporting can also complicate coordination between fiscal and monetary policy, as policymakers may not have a clear picture of the true deficit, he added.

Mr Ebeke also clarified that the Nigerian government has begun addressing the issue by repealing and revising recent budget laws to incorporate previously unrecorded spending, though updated implementation reports are still needed.

He added that improving transparency is critical, noting that off-budget spending raises concerns about procurement processes and oversight.

In its latest Article IV review, the IMF praised Nigeria’s sweeping reforms, saying they had strengthened economic stability and investor confidence, but warned that the benefits had yet to reach millions of citizens and could be undermined by global shocks, including the Middle East conflict.

According to the Bretton Woods institution, the implementation of Nigeria’s new tax laws should gradually increase revenue collection, while the use of digital tools to track, verify and collect revenues could reduce leakages and corruption vulnerabilities.

The IMF said higher revenues would create fiscal space for development projects and social spending, but warned that the timing of any additional taxes should take into account the country’s worsening social conditions.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange returned to the negative territory with a 0.73 per cent decline on Wednesday, July 1, after recording no price gainer or loser.

During the trading day, the market capitalisation shed N18.74 billion to close at N2.561 trillion compared with the previous day’s N2.580 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) dropped 31.21 points to 4,268.20 points from 4,299.41 points.

The volume of securities traded at the midweek session fell by 72.9 per cent to 229,238 units from the previous 846,063 units, and the number of deals decreased by 28 per cent to 18 deals from Tuesday’s 25 deals, while the value of stocks transacted increased by 34.9 per cent to N21.5 million from N15.9 million.

At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 68.9 million units exchanged for N4.8 billion.

GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira further appreciated against the US Dollar by N7.27 or 0.39 per cent to N1,372.41/41 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, July 1 compared with the previous day’s N1,379.68/$1.

The local currency also further improved against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N3.32 to close at N1,821.73/£1 compared N1,825.05/£1, and gained N7.61 on the Euro to sell at N1,565.37/€1 versus N1,572.98/€1.

Meanwhile, the Naira traded flat against the Dollar at the parallel market yesterday at N1,395/$1, and also closed flat at the GTBank FX desk at N1,389/$1.

Interbank FX deals count reduced to 91 from 166, reducing pressures on foreign currency supply at the FX window. A lower number of deals and turnover suggested that bank customers’ Dollar requests eased today, pointing to low demand and alleviating pressure on the Naira.

Nigeria’s gross external reserves closed the first half of 2026 at $51.46 billion following a sequence of additional FX inflows from across key sources, including oil sales.

The market also got affirmations of stronger policy direction as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continued to sanitise the financial system with the revocation of 46 microfinance banks across the country with immediate effect.

In the cryptocurrency market, the market was positive after the US Federal Reserve Chairman, Mr Kevin Warsh, said inflation risks had eased, giving a market that spent most of June grinding lower its first clear lift in weeks.

Speaking at the European Central Bank’s annual forum in Sintra, Portugal, on Wednesday, Mr Warsh said “inflation risks have come down” while reaffirming the Fed’s commitment to returning inflation to 2 per cent.

Solana (SOL) grew by 3.9 per cent to $78.02, Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 2.5 per cent to $60,385.27, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 2.3 per cent to $1,623.09, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 2.1 per cent to $0.1542, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 0.9 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) increased by 0.7 per cent to $0.0726, and Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 0.4 per cent to $551.50.

On the flip side, TRON (TRX) fell by 0.2 per cent to $0.3154, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.