Ministry of Finance: Nigeria $12.4 Billion Outside Account Gap No Be Money Wey Miss

Nigeria Ministry of Finance don come out talk say make people no mind those reports wey dey yarn say $12.4 billion dey miss inside di country outside account, as dem explain say di money no be stolen or hidden oil money, na just adjustment for figures

Inside one statement wey Maryann Duke-Okon (senior special assistant on communications to the minister of finance) sign, di ministry talk say wetin media carry no be wetin World Bank October 2026 Nigeria Development Update actually mean.Di World Bank write say net errors and omissions reach minus $12.4 billion inside Nigeria balance of payments for di first half of 2026.Di ministry explain say that amount na just difference between financial data wey dem collect separately, and e no mean say money miss.Dem talk say World Bank yarn say money from oil wey dem never bring back home fit cause part of di wahala, but di bank no mention any particular amount, company, or cargo.Di ministry still talk about di $12 billion current account surplus wey happen for di first half of 2026, and how total foreign reserves increase from $45.5 billion for the end of 2025 reach $53.8 billion by the end of August 2026.Dem say things like money wey people send through informal ways, trading across borders wey dem no record well, delay to pay for things wey dem export, and provisional data fit cause those differences.Di ministry talk say dem go work hand in hand with Central Bank of Nigeria and other agencies make dem record external transactions better, and dem beg journalists make dem always ask experts make dem explain things well before dem carry news say money miss.