Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, has called on the National Assembly to launch an urgent forensic examination of the 2026 Appropriation Act. His demand follows the discovery of more than ₦210 billion in duplicate and overlapping budget allocations.
In a statement through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku linked the finding to what he termed reckless fiscal management by the Tinubu administration. He said Nigeria's poor performance on nearly 90 percent of global prosperity indicators underscores the government's budgetary mismanagement.
"For more than three years, Nigerians have endured unrelenting hardship," Atiku said. He noted that citizens were promised economic stability through fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, tax increases and rising tariffs, yet the government cannot account for how ₦210 billion entered duplicated budget lines.
The former vice president traced a troubling pattern of questionable budget practices, including allocations for projects beyond agencies' statutory roles and insertions worth billions of naira. He argued this fiscal indiscipline extends beyond mere duplication.
Atiku pointed to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited's 2024 audited financial statements as evidence of deeper problems. The NNPC spent ₦7.13 trillion on "Energy Security Expenses"—what the corporation itself identifies as petrol subsidy—despite government claims that subsidy ended in 2023.
He connected this budgetary chaos to deteriorating living standards across Nigeria. Families skip meals, small businesses fold, and graduates cannot secure employment even as officials tout selective economic gains, he noted.
Atiku urged the Auditor-General of the Federation, anti-corruption agencies and civil society groups to independently probe the budget. He demanded identification of officials responsible for the duplications and recovery of all improperly appropriated funds.
An ADC administration would restore public finance credibility through transparent budgeting and zero-based expenditure planning, he pledged. Digital public expenditure tracking and strict accountability for public officers would anchor this approach.
"When the owner of the barn invites goats to keep watch over his harvest, he should not be surprised when hunger follows abundance," Atiku said. "Nigeria deserves custodians of her commonwealth, not caretakers of waste."
