NIGERIA: Atiku Alleges ₦8.8tn Off-Budget Spending, Demands Probe Of Tinubu Administration Over IMF Findings

By Onoja Baba

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for an immediate investigation into what he described as one of the gravest fiscal accountability scandals in Nigeria’s recent democratic history, alleging that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu expended about ₦8.8 trillion outside the country’s official budgetary framework.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Atiku said his concerns were triggered by findings contained in the latest Article IV consultation report of the International Monetary Fund, published on July 1 and reported by Reuters.

According to him, the IMF disclosed that public expenditures equivalent to about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product were omitted from recent official budgets, a development he said translates to approximately ₦8.8 trillion based on the country’s estimated GDP of ₦441.5 trillion.

Describing the revelation as deeply alarming, Atiku alleged that the funds were spent entirely outside Nigeria’s statutory budgetary process, beyond legislative appropriation, public scrutiny and constitutional oversight. He argued that the alleged off-budget expenditures represented a parallel fiscal system in which major government projects were executed outside the supervision of the National Assembly of Nigeria, the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation and existing public procurement laws.

The former Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate alleged that the development reflected a familiar pattern of fiscal management which, according to him, dates back to Tinubu’s tenure as governor of Lagos State. He referenced the controversial Alpha Beta revenue collection arrangement, claiming it allowed substantial portions of internally generated revenue to be diverted before entering the state’s official treasury, thereby escaping legislative oversight.

Atiku contended that the same model had allegedly been replicated at the federal level, accusing the current administration of operating what he described as a “shadow treasury” outside the constitutional framework governing public finance.

He further alleged that about ₦800 billion had been unlawfully deducted from statutory allocations due to state governments without the approval of the National Assembly, a court order or any constitutional basis. According to him, the alleged deductions, combined with the reported off-budget expenditures, suggest the existence of a massive pool of public funds that could be deployed for political purposes ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The former vice president also linked the allegations to the recent controversy surrounding the reported inclusion of ₦1.3 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Bill for the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, an agency whose existence later became a subject of public debate. He argued that the controversy reflected a broader pattern of weak fiscal transparency and accountability within the current administration.

According to Atiku, while Nigerians have endured the economic consequences of fuel subsidy removal, naira depreciation, soaring inflation and high interest rates, the IMF findings suggest that enormous public resources remained outside official accounting processes. He argued that the government had consistently justified painful economic reforms by claiming limited fiscal resources, while allegedly maintaining access to trillions of naira spent beyond the country’s approved budgets.

He maintained that the alleged off-budget spending had deprived the productive sector of much-needed investment, worsened unemployment, weakened the naira and contributed to delays in contractors’ payments and salaries in parts of the public sector.

Atiku further argued that the funds, if transparently appropriated and deployed through a structured economic recovery programme, could have strengthened Nigeria’s productive economy, supported businesses struggling under high borrowing costs and created millions of jobs across agriculture, manufacturing and technology.

Calling for urgent institutional action, Atiku urged the National Assembly to immediately commence investigative hearings into the IMF’s findings, describing the issue as a constitutional emergency rather than a matter to be addressed through routine government explanations. He also called on the Auditor-General of the Federation to conduct a comprehensive independent audit of all alleged off-budget expenditures and publish the findings in full.

He demanded that the Federal Government provide a detailed public account of every naira allegedly spent outside the official budget, including the projects executed, contractors involved, procurement processes followed and officials who authorised the expenditures.

He also called for the immediate refund of the alleged ₦800 billion deducted from state governments’ statutory allocations, alongside a full disclosure of how the funds were utilised.

The former vice president further urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and other anti-corruption agencies to launch independent investigations into both the reported off-budget expenditures and the alleged deductions from state allocations.

He also appealed to civil society organisations, professional bodies, the business community and international development partners to insist on transparency and accountability in the management of Nigeria’s public finances.

“A government that governs in secret spends in secret. A government that spends in secret does not govern; it plunders,” Atiku said, insisting that the allegations were rooted in findings published by the IMF rather than partisan political claims.

The Federal Government had not officially responded to Atiku’s allegations as of the time this report was filed. Meanwhile, the IMF’s latest Article IV consultation encouraged Nigeria to strengthen fiscal transparency, improve public financial management and ensure more comprehensive reporting of government expenditures.