Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for an urgent investigation into what he described as an unprecedented case of fiscal opacity, alleging that the administration of President Bola Tinubu spent about N8.8 trillion outside Nigeria’s official budget framework.
Atiku’s demand follows a report on the International Monetary Fund’s, IMF, latest Article IV consultation on Nigeria, which was published by Reuters on July 1, 2026.
He argued that the reported off-budget expenditure, estimated at about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, raises serious concerns over transparency, accountability and constitutional oversight in the management of public finances.
In a statement on his personal Facebook page on Saturday, Atiku said the revelation should command the immediate attention of the National Assembly, civil society organisations, the media and all democratic institutions, insisting that the matter represents “the most consequential act of fiscal impunity in Nigeria’s recent democratic history.”
According to him, the IMF’s findings indicate that large-scale government projects were executed outside the statutory budget process, thereby placing trillions of naira beyond legislative scrutiny, procurement regulations and audit oversight.
“The Tinubu administration is awarding multi-trillion naira contracts, moving massive public capital, and commissioning infrastructure projects entirely beyond the reach of the Auditor-General, the nation’s procurement laws, and the legitimate oversight of the National Assembly. It is a parallel fiscal universe governed by executive whim,” Atiku said.
The former vice president further alleged that the development reflects a continuation of what he described as an “off-budget governance model” previously witnessed in Lagos State, claiming that it has now been replicated at the federal level with far-reaching implications for the nation’s economy and democratic accountability.
He also alleged that about N800 billion was unlawfully deducted from statutory allocations due to state governments without constitutional authorisation, claiming that the deductions, alongside the reported off-budget expenditures, point to the creation of what he termed a political war chest ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“When a government operates a secret treasury of this scale at precisely the moment it needs to purchase electoral outcomes, the conclusion is not difficult to reach. The Tinubu administration is not reforming Nigeria’s economy. It is financing its own political survival with money that belongs to the Nigerian people,” he stated.
Atiku further argued that the reported expenditures undermine the government’s justification for painful economic reforms, including fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate liberalisation and high interest rates, saying Nigerians had been told that the country’s treasury was under severe strain while, according to him, substantial public funds were allegedly being spent outside approved budgets.
“The IMF has now exposed that narrative as a big fat lie. While the poor were told to bleed, the government maintained access to a N8.8 trillion shadow treasury entirely outside public view and legislative oversight,” he said.
The former presidential candidate maintained that transparent appropriation of such resources could have been deployed to stimulate economic growth, create jobs, support businesses and stabilise the naira.
He consequently called on the National Assembly to immediately convene emergency investigative hearings into the IMF findings and urged the Auditor-General of the Federation to undertake a comprehensive audit of all off-budget expenditures referenced in the IMF report.
Atiku also demanded that the Federal Government publish a detailed account of all expenditures made outside the official budget, restore the alleged N800 billion deducted from state allocations, and direct anti-corruption agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, to launch independent investigations into the allegations.
“A government that governs in secret spends in secret. A government that spends in secret does not govern—it plunders,” Atiku said, urging Nigerians to insist on greater transparency and accountability in the management of public resources.
The Federal Government had not issued an official response to Atiku’s allegations at the time of filing this report.
