Atiku Slams Tinubu Over Alleged ₦210bn Budget Duplication, Demands Forensic Probe

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of fiscal recklessness following reports of alleged duplicated and overlapping allocations exceeding ₦210 billion in the 2026 federal budget.

Atiku said the alleged budget irregularities, alongside Nigeria’s poor performance on global prosperity indicators, demonstrated what he described as a failure of leadership rather than a shortage of national resources.

In a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president said Nigerians had endured years of economic hardship based on promises that government reforms would eventually improve the economy.

“For more than three years, Nigerians have been subjected to relentless hardship. They were told that fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, higher taxes and rising tariffs were bitter pills that would eventually restore economic stability. Yet today, the same government cannot explain how more than ₦210 billion found its way into duplicated and overlapping budget provisions.

“When a government asks its people to sacrifice, it must first demonstrate discipline. Instead, what Nigerians have seen is a budget riddled with duplication, questionable insertions, overlapping projects and expenditures that offend both common sense and fiscal responsibility,” Atiku said.

He argued that the latest allegations were part of a broader pattern of questionable budget practices.

“In recent months, Nigerians have witnessed budgetary allocations for projects outside the statutory mandates of agencies, controversial insertions running into billions of naira, and expenditures that bear little relationship to the pressing needs of ordinary citizens. Rather than responding with transparency, the government has too often resorted to denial before reluctantly acknowledging problems when confronted with overwhelming evidence,” he stated.

Atiku also revisited the controversy surrounding fuel subsidy payments, alleging that the administration had not fully eliminated the subsidy despite earlier announcements.

“Nothing illustrates the bankruptcy of this administration’s so-called reforms more than the fuel subsidy deception. Nigerians were told in 2023 that subsidy was gone and were compelled to endure unprecedented hardship—skyrocketing fuel prices, crushing transportation costs, runaway inflation and a collapsing standard of living—in the name of economic reform.

“Yet NNPC Limited’s own audited 2024 financial statements now reveal that a staggering ₦7.13 trillion was still expended on what it calls ‘Energy Security Expenses,’ a category the company itself identifies as petrol subsidy, otherwise known as under-recovery.

“This means Nigerians were never told the whole truth. The subsidy was not eliminated; it was merely repackaged, renamed and quietly charged against the Federation. A government that conceals ₦7.13 trillion behind a convenient euphemism while demanding sacrifice from millions of struggling citizens cannot claim the moral authority to preach reform, prudence or fiscal discipline. Nigerians deserve to know who authorised this expenditure, who benefited from it, and why the administration chose to market deception as economic reform,” he said.

The former vice president maintained that the integrity of the national budget was essential for economic planning and investor confidence.

“The national budget is the single most important economic policy document of any government. It should reflect national priorities, inspire investor confidence and assure citizens that every naira borrowed or earned will be spent wisely. When that document itself becomes contaminated by duplication and overlapping allocations, confidence in the entire machinery of government is undermined,” he added.

According to Atiku, the effects of what he described as fiscal indiscipline were already evident in the lives of Nigerians.

“While government officials celebrate selective macroeconomic indicators, Nigerians are experiencing a different economy entirely. Families are skipping meals. Parents are struggling to pay school fees. Small businesses are shutting their doors. Manufacturers continue to battle soaring production costs. Young graduates cannot find jobs. Farmers are trapped between insecurity and inflation.

“It therefore comes as no surprise that Nigeria is now lagging behind its peers across almost every meaningful indicator of prosperity. A nation cannot budget for waste and expect prosperity. It cannot institutionalise inefficiency and hope for development,” he said.

He further questioned the government’s borrowing profile, saying the latest revelations had raised concerns over the management of public resources.

“On one hand, government claims reforms are succeeding. On the other hand, it continues to borrow aggressively despite periods of stronger oil prices, while revelations of duplicated allocations raise legitimate questions about how public resources are being managed. The tragedy is not merely that Nigeria is borrowing; it is that Nigerians are increasingly uncertain whether those borrowings are producing commensurate value,” Atiku said.

The ADC presidential candidate called on the National Assembly to conduct a forensic review of the 2026 Appropriation Act and identify those responsible for any duplicated allocations.

He also urged the Auditor-General of the Federation, anti-corruption agencies and civil society organisations to independently scrutinise the budget.

“The days when budget manipulation could be dismissed as mere clerical errors must come to an end. Every duplicated allocation represents a classroom not built, a hospital not equipped, a road left abandoned and a community denied development,” he stated.

Atiku said an ADC-led administration would prioritise transparent budgeting, zero-based expenditure planning, digital public expenditure tracking, stronger legislative oversight and accountability in the management of public funds.

He concluded by saying:

“Nigeria’s greatest problem is not the absence of wealth. It is the absence of discipline in the management of that wealth. A government that cannot protect the integrity of its budget cannot protect the future of its people.”