Atiku to Tinubu: Account for 2% GDP budget omission

Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has challenged the Bola Tinubu administration to account for public expenditure allegedly omitted from the country’s recent budgets.

He described the development as evidence of “institutional corruption” at the highest levels of government.

Reacting to the International Monetary Fund’s disclosure that Nigeria excluded public spending equivalent to two per cent of its Gross Domestic Product from recent budget documentation, Atiku said the revelation raises serious constitutional and accountability concerns that demand immediate investigation.

The IMF, in its recent assessment of Nigeria’s public finances, raised concerns over significant fiscal reporting gaps, stating that government expenditure equivalent to about two per cent of GDP was not captured in the country’s budget framework.

The Fund recommended stronger fiscal transparency, improved budget reporting and tighter public financial management to enhance accountability.

In a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president argued that the omission could not be dismissed as an accounting error.

“If, as the IMF has revealed, expenditure amounting to two per cent of Nigeria’s GDP was omitted from the budget process, then Nigerians are entitled to one simple question: Who stole the missing two per cent of our GDP?”

“This is no longer an accounting discrepancy” but “a constitutional, legal and moral scandal.

“Money does not simply disappear from a national budget. Somebody authorised it. Somebody approved it. Somebody spent it. Somebody benefited from it. Nigerians deserve to know who those people are,” he stated.

Atiku linked the IMF disclosure to the recent controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which the Presidency has denied establishing, arguing that both incidents point to a broader pattern of abuse of public institutions and weak fiscal accountability.

He said it was troubling that while the Federal Ministry of Health reportedly received only N36m in releases despite a budgetary allocation of more than N218bn, the controversial agency allegedly received about N1.3bn.

“Nothing better illustrates the warped priorities of this administration than a government that starves hospitals and healthcare programmes of funds while ghost agencies somehow find billions waiting for them. This is not fiscal management; it is institutionalised corruption,” Atiku said.

He also called on the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to explain how the alleged agency gained official recognition within government processes.

“The Secretary to the Government of the Federation owes Nigerians a duty of candour. He must come clean. The country deserves to know who authorised the recognition of the so-called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and under whose directive government institutions accorded it official status,” he said.

Atiku further referenced allegations made by Adeniyi Adeyemi, the principal figure linked to the controversy, who reportedly claimed that the dispute began after he refused a demand for a 48 per cent kickback from the Office of the Chief of Staff over a proposed N27.3bn take-off grant for the agency.

Describing the allegation as too serious to ignore, the former Vice President called for an independent investigation.

“If the allegations are false, let the government prove them through an open investigation. If they are true, then every official connected with this scandal, regardless of rank or office, must be removed immediately and handed over to the appropriate security agencies for prosecution,” he said.

He further argued that the controversy comes at a time Nigerians are grappling with the effects of fuel subsidy removal, rising electricity tariffs, high inflation, multiple taxes and increasing public debt.

“It is both ironic and cruel that citizens are being asked to make endless sacrifices while government itself cannot transparently explain where enormous public resources have gone,” he said.

He maintained that the issue transcends partisan politics and strikes at the heart of constitutional governance and public accountability.

“The books must be opened. Every naira must be traced. Every expenditure must be justified. Every official found culpable must be held accountable,” he said.

The former Vice President added that until the government provides a satisfactory explanation for the alleged off-budget spending, “every claim of transparency by this administration will ring hollow.”

Atiku urged the National Assembly, the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Public Accounts Committees of both chambers, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate the matter.