Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Federal Government’s presentation of rising naira-denominated FAAC allocations as evidence of economic growth, arguing that the figures do not reflect Nigerians’ actual economic realities.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the reported increase in FAAC revenue as a monetary illusion when measured against naira depreciation, inflation, declining purchasing power and the mounting liabilities of state governments.
He said Nigerians should not be impressed by monthly announcements of trillions of naira when the currency has lost significant value and the cost of basic goods and services continues to rise.
“The arithmetic is brutal. In 2019, FAAC distribution was approximately ₦7.85 trillion, worth about $25.6 billion at the prevailing exchange rate. By 2025, FAAC had risen on paper to approximately ₦21.9 trillion, yet its dollar value had fallen to roughly $14.6 billion. So while government parades almost three times as many naira, the underlying dollar value is more than 40 per cent lower.
“That is not an economic miracle. That is money illusion. You cannot batter the currency, allow inflation to ravage purchasing power and then wave bigger naira figures before Nigerians as evidence that the country has become richer. Bigger numbers do not cancel smaller value.”
Atiku said the effect was particularly evident in workers’ purchasing power, arguing that higher nominal salaries had not necessarily translated into better living standards.
“Take the minimum wage as the simplest example. In 2019, ₦30,000 was worth roughly $83. By May 2023, that same ₦30,000 was worth about $65. Today, government boasts that the minimum wage has more than doubled to ₦70,000, yet at an exchange rate of around ₦1,320 to the dollar, that ₦70,000 is worth only about $53. Think about that: the number written on the worker’s payslip has risen from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000, but its dollar value has fallen from about $83 to about $53.
“That is Tinubu’s money illusion in its simplest form. The figure in your hand is bigger, but the value in your pocket is smaller. A worker can earn more naira today and still afford less food, less transport, less electricity, less medicine and less housing than before. Government counts the naira but conveniently refuses to count what the naira can buy.”
The former vice president said economic performance should instead be assessed by what FAAC allocations can purchase and the obligations they can meet, rather than the size of the figures announced after monthly meetings.
“If FAAC is truly booming, then where is the boom? Where is it in the price of food? Where is it in transport? Where is it in electricity, healthcare, housing and jobs? Where is it in the purchasing power of salaries? Government cannot become richer on paper while the people become poorer in reality and then expect Nigerians to applaud the contradiction.”
Atiku also questioned why states continued to carry substantial debt burdens despite what he described as unprecedented revenue allocations.
“And here is another question the FAAC cheerleaders must answer: if the states are swimming in unprecedented revenues, why are they still drowning in debt? A September 2026 report based on Debt Management Office data shows that just 12 states whose governors are approaching the end of their tenures carry a combined debt burden of approximately ₦5.3 trillion, comprising ₦2.16 trillion in domestic debt and about $2.33 billion in foreign obligations.
“So spare Nigerians the victory parade. You cannot boast endlessly about unprecedented FAAC allocations while states remain heavily indebted, pension and gratuity obligations persist, contractors chase payments and governments continue to carry enormous liabilities. If the money is as unprecedented as we are constantly told, Nigerians have every right to ask the most elementary question: where has the money gone?
“What is the purpose of a revenue boom if liabilities remain enormous? What is the meaning of record allocations if governments continue borrowing and citizens cannot see a corresponding improvement in their standard of living? Revenue is not an achievement merely because it enters a government account. The achievement is what that revenue buys, what debts it settles, what infrastructure it delivers and how much better it makes the lives of the people.”
Atiku further called on the administration to strengthen fiscal discipline across government spending, arguing that scrutiny should not be limited to measures affecting ordinary Nigerians.
He urged greater examination of government expenditure, tax concessions, import waivers, revenue exemptions, duplicated and abandoned projects, and other areas where public resources could potentially be wasted.
