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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Tinubu to account for about ₦30 trillion in alleged deductions, savings and transfers from the Federation revenues.
Atiku, who is also the 2027 African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Candidate, said latest figures from the July 2026 Federation Account indicate that the government needs to give account for approximately ₦30 trillion, against ₦28 trillion in June.
The former Vice President,in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said for July 2026, gross statutory revenue stood at ₦4.359 trillion, while the Federation Account Allocation Committee approved a total distribution of ₦3.007 trillion to the Federal Government, 36 states and 774 local government councils.
According to him,the July figures were further evidence that Nigerians deserve a comprehensive reconciliation of the enormous revenues flowing into the Federation Account and the deductions made before distribution.
Atiku said “the madness continues. Month after month, trillions of naira enter the Federation accounts, and month after month enormous amounts are removed under different classifications before the balance is distributed.
“Our reconciliation previously identified approximately ₦28 trillion requiring explanation up to June 2026. July shows that the pattern has continued. The cumulative amount of Federation revenues, deductions, savings, transfers and related funds requiring transparent reconciliation is now approaching ₦30 trillion.
“If the Tinubu administration disputes that figure, the answer is not another press statement. Publish the ledger.”
He recalled that in January 2024, ₦2.068 trillion was reported as available revenue, but only ₦1.149 trillion was distributed. In June 2025, ₦4.232 trillion was available, while ₦1.818 trillion was shared. By June 2026, ₦4.501 trillion was reported as available, but only ₦2.551 trillion was distributed.
“These are not accounting footnotes. This is the wealth of the Nigerian people. These are also government figures, not ours. The accounts are in the custody of the government, not the opposition. Therefore, the burden is on President Tinubu and his administration to tell Nigerians what happened to their money.
“Government cannot demand that citizens prove what happened to public funds whose collection, custody, deductions and disbursement are exclusively under its control. Publish the accounts, identify every deduction and beneficiary, show the transfers, show the savings, show the balances and show the dates.”
The former Vice President stated that the Tinubu administration must particularly account for the revenues and fiscal gains arising from the removal of petroleum and energy subsidies, adding that Nigerians were specifically promised that the painful reforms would release resources for development.
Atiku said “the savings and additional revenues generated by these reforms belong to the Nigerian people. They are not the private reserves of the Presidency or any government agency.
“Where is the subsidy-removal windfall?
“By now, the gains from subsidy removal should be financing inter-state rail connectivity, expanding the carrying capacity of our universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, strengthening primary healthcare facilities across the country, improving public transportation and investing in infrastructure that reduces the cost of doing business.
“Instead, Nigerians are paying more for petrol, electricity, transportation and food while the government celebrates record revenues without providing an equally transparent account of what happened to the proceeds of their sacrifice.”
“If these trillions genuinely exist as savings, where are they and why is Nigeria borrowing so aggressively?If the money has been transferred, who received it? If it has been spent, what was it spent on? If it remains in government accounts, what are the balances today? These are straightforward questions. President Tinubu should provide straightforward answers.”
The former Vice President challenged the government to publish a month-by-month and beneficiary-by-beneficiary reconciliation of Federation revenues from June 2023 to date, clearly separating cost of collection, savings, transfers, interventions, refunds and every other deduction.
“For every naira removed before distribution, Nigerians deserve to know the amount, beneficiary, purpose, date, destination and legal authority. Transparency is not achieved by attaching convenient accounting labels to trillions of naira. It is achieved by opening the books.
“President Tinubu asked Nigerians to make sacrifices. Nigerians have sacrificed enough. What they cannot be asked to sacrifice is their constitutional right to know what happened to their money. If the approximately ₦30 trillion is properly accounted for, President Tinubu should publish the ledger and show Nigerians where every naira went,” he stated.
