Atiku Challenges Tinubu To Explain How Nearly N30tn In Federation Funds Was Managed

Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to provide a detailed account of how federation revenues, deductions, savings and transfers have been managed since June 2023.

Atiku made the demand following the release of the July 2026 Federation Account figures, which he said had raised further concerns about the management of public revenue, particularly funds linked to the removal of petroleum and energy subsidies.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said his earlier review of publicly available Federation Account figures had identified about N28 trillion that required further explanation as of June 2026.

He said the July figures had pushed the cumulative amount requiring what he described as transparent public accounting to almost N30 trillion.

Atiku challenged the Federal Government to publish a comprehensive reconciliation if it disagreed with his calculations.

“The question President Tinubu must answer remains painfully simple: Where is the money?” Atiku said.

According to the July figures referenced by the former vice-president, gross statutory revenue stood at N4.359 trillion, while the Federation Account Allocation Committee approved N3.007 trillion for distribution among the Federal Government, the 36 states and 774 local government areas.

Atiku said the figures highlighted the need for greater transparency regarding revenues paid into the Federation Account and the deductions made before funds are distributed.

He questioned why significant amounts are deducted under different classifications before the remaining funds are shared among the three tiers of government.

“Our reconciliation previously identified approximately N28 trillion requiring explanation up to June 2026. July shows that the pattern has continued,” he said.

“The cumulative amount of Federation revenues, deductions, savings, transfers and related funds requiring transparent reconciliation is now approaching N30 trillion.

“If the Tinubu administration disputes that figure, the answer is not another press statement. Publish the ledger.”

Atiku also called for a detailed explanation of the financial gains generated following the removal of petroleum and energy subsidies.

He recalled that Nigerians were asked to endure the economic difficulties associated with the reforms with assurances that the resulting savings and additional revenues would eventually be channelled into national development.

The ADC candidate questioned how those funds had been utilised and challenged the Federal Government to provide evidence of their deployment.

“The savings and additional revenues generated by these reforms belong to the Nigerian people,” Atiku said.

He also questioned why the country continues to rely heavily on borrowing despite claims of increased revenues and accumulated savings.

“If these trillions genuinely exist as savings, where are they and why is Nigeria borrowing so aggressively?” he asked.

Atiku further requested clarification on whether the funds had been spent, transferred or retained in government accounts.

The former vice-president urged the Tinubu administration to publish a month-by-month and beneficiary-by-beneficiary reconciliation of Federation Account revenues from June 2023 to date.

He said the document should clearly show the amount deducted, the beneficiary, purpose, date, destination and legal authority for every naira removed before the funds were distributed.

According to Atiku, public accountability cannot be achieved simply by assigning accounting classifications to large sums of money without providing sufficient details about their movement.

“Transparency is not achieved by attaching convenient accounting labels to trillions of naira. It is achieved by opening the books,” he said.

He added that Nigerians who have faced economic hardship following government reforms deserve a clear explanation of how public revenues and savings are being managed.

“If the approximately N30 trillion is properly accounted for, President Tinubu should publish the ledger and show Nigerians where every naira went,” Atiku said.