Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, has demanded a forensic probe into the 2026 budget following a BusinessDay investigation that uncovered N210.23 billion in overlapping allocations across government agencies. He wants the National Assembly to identify and publicise officials responsible for the budgeting errors.
The investigation examined Nigeria's 2,604-page Appropriation Act and discovered multiple instances where identical programmes, projects and government functions received separate budget lines. Some offices drew funding through various allocations, while flagship initiatives appeared under different spending channels.
Atiku, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication Phrank Shaibu, said the duplications contradicted the government's narrative about restoring fiscal stability. "For more than three years, Nigerians have endured relentless hardship," he said in a statement.
The former vice president noted that citizens were promised economic recovery through fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate reforms, higher taxes and increased tariffs. "Yet today, the same government cannot explain how more than N210bn found its way into duplicated and overlapping budget provisions," he added.
He argued that any administration demanding sacrifices from its people must first show discipline in managing public resources. "When a government asks its people to sacrifice, it must first demonstrate discipline," Atiku stated.
Instead, he said Nigerians had witnessed a budget packed with duplication, questionable additions and overlapping projects. These practices, he argued, violated both common sense and principles of fiscal responsibility.
Atiku linked the allocations to deeper flaws in public financial management and budget execution. He warned that such irregularities could erode public confidence and deter investors from supporting the economy.
The budget serves as the government's main economic policy tool and must clearly show national priorities, according to him. He called on the National Assembly to conduct a thorough forensic review of the 2026 budget.
The former vice president demanded the parliament publish all duplicated allocations and identify the officials who approved them. He also urged recovery of any improperly appropriated funds.
Atiku pressed the Auditor-General of the Federation, anti-corruption agencies and civil society groups to independently examine the budget. "The days when budget manipulation could be dismissed as mere clerical errors must come to an end," he said.
He stressed that every duplicated allocation represented a classroom left unbuilt, a hospital without equipment and a road abandoned. Communities, he added, had been denied development because of such wasteful practices.
