Former Vice-President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to account for approximately ₦30 trillion in Federation revenues, deductions, savings and transfers that he said remain subject to public reconciliation.
Atiku, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the July 2026 Federation Account figures had deepened concerns over transparency in the management of public funds.
He said his earlier reconciliation of published Federation Account figures identified about ₦28 trillion requiring explanation up to June 2026, adding that the July figures had pushed the cumulative amount approaching ₦30 trillion.
“The question President Tinubu must answer remains painfully simple: Where is the money?” Atiku asked.
According to him, gross statutory revenue stood at ₦4.359 trillion in July 2026, while the Federation Account Allocation Committee approved a total distribution of ₦3.007 trillion to the Federal Government, the 36 states and 774 local government councils.
Atiku said the recurring gap between revenues entering the Federation Account and the amounts distributed required a detailed explanation.
He cited previous figures, including ₦2.068 trillion reportedly available in January 2024, of which ₦1.149 trillion was distributed; ₦4.232 trillion available in June 2025, against ₦1.818 trillion distributed; and ₦4.501 trillion available in June 2026, compared with ₦2.551 trillion distributed.
“These are not accounting footnotes. This is the wealth of the Nigerian people,” he said.
The former Vice-President argued that the responsibility for explaining the figures rests with the government because the collection, custody, deductions and disbursement of Federation revenues are under its control.
He called on the administration to publish the accounts, identify every deduction and beneficiary, and disclose transfers, savings, balances and dates.
Atiku also demanded accountability for revenues and savings generated from the removal of petroleum and energy subsidies, arguing that Nigerians were promised the reforms would free resources for development.
“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?” he said.
He said the proceeds should have been channelled into projects such as inter-state rail connectivity, education, primary healthcare, public transportation and infrastructure capable of reducing the cost of doing business.
Atiku further questioned why Nigeria continues to borrow heavily if the government has accumulated substantial savings from increased revenues and subsidy reforms.
“If these trillions genuinely exist as savings, where are they and why is Nigeria borrowing so aggressively?” he asked.
He subsequently challenged the Tinubu administration to publish a month-by-month and beneficiary-by-beneficiary reconciliation of Federation revenues from June 2023 to date, clearly identifying the amounts, beneficiaries, purposes, dates, destinations and legal authority for every deduction.
“Transparency is not achieved by attaching convenient accounting labels to trillions of naira. It is achieved by opening the books,” Atiku said.
He maintained that Nigerians had already made significant sacrifices under the government’s economic reforms and deserved to know how the resulting revenues had been utilised.
“If the approximately ₦30 trillion is properly accounted for, President Tinubu should publish the ledger and show Nigerians where every naira went.”
