Atiku demands full account of federation revenues, subsidy savings

FORMER Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to publish a comprehensive ledger showing federation revenues, deductions, savings, transfers and other funds generated since the government assumed office.

Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, said the latest federation account figures for July 2026 had heightened concerns over how government revenues were being managed, particularly funds linked to the removal of petroleum and energy subsidies.

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

He said the July figures had increased the cumulative amount requiring transparent reconciliation to nearly N30 trillion.

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

According to the July figures, gross statutory revenue stood at N4.359 trillion, while the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) approved N3.007 trillion for distribution among the Federal Government, the 36 states and 774 local government areas.

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Atiku argued that the figures made it necessary for the administration to provide a detailed reconciliation of revenues accruing to the Federation Account and deductions made before allocations were shared.

He said trillions of naira had continued to flow into the federation account monthly, while significant sums were deducted under various classifications before the remaining funds were distributed.

“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.”

Atiku said any disagreement with his calculation should be addressed through the publication of a detailed financial ledger rather than public statements.

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

The former vice-president referenced previous Federation Account figures to support his concerns. He noted that N2.068 trillion was reported as available revenue in January 2024, with N1.149 trillion distributed.

He also cited June 2025 figures, when N4.232 trillion was reportedly available and N1.818 trillion was distributed, and June 2026, when N4.501 trillion was reported as available while N2.551 trillion was distributed.

“These are not accounting footnotes. This is the wealth of the Nigerian people,” Atiku said.

Atiku demands explanation for subsidy gains. Atiku also demanded a specific account of the financial gains arising from the removal of petroleum and energy subsidies.

He recalled that Nigerians had been asked to bear the economic hardship caused by the reforms on the assurance that savings and additional government revenues would ultimately be deployed to improve development outcomes.

“President Tinubu did not ask Nigerians to endure the agony of subsidy removal so that the proceeds could become unexplained stashed funds beyond public scrutiny,” he said.

He argued that savings and additional revenues resulting from the reforms belonged to Nigerians and should therefore be fully accounted for.

“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?” Atiku asked.

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He further questioned why the government continued to borrow heavily if substantial savings and additional revenues had accumulated from the reforms.

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

Atiku also demanded clarification on the destination and utilisation of the funds.

“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?” he said.

He called for a month-by-month and beneficiary-by-beneficiary reconciliation of federation revenues from June 2023 to date.

According to him, every deduction made before distribution should be accompanied by details of 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,” Atiku said.

He added that Nigerians had made significant sacrifices and deserved full disclosure on the management of public resources.

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