By Eshioromeh Sebastian
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has challenged the Bola Tinubu administration to account for public expenditure equivalent to two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says was omitted from recent national budgets.
In a statement personally signed on Saturday, Atiku described the development as evidence of “institutional corruption” at the highest levels of government and demanded full disclosure of those responsible for authorising the unrecorded spending.
The IMF’s Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, disclosed on Wednesday during a meeting with business executives in Lagos that public spending worth about two per cent of GDP was not captured in recent official budgets .
Based on Nigeria’s nominal GDP of ₦441.5 trillion in 2025, Vanguard Newspaper’s findings indicate that approximately ₦8.83 trillion in public spending was excluded from official budget documents, distorting the country’s actual fiscal deficit and borrowing needs .
Ebeke explained that the unreported expenditure was largely tied to major government projects executed outside the formal budget framework, making it difficult to accurately assess Nigeria’s fiscal position and the scale of public investment .
“So far, we think that there are about two per cent of GDP of expenditure that were not reported that should be reported and should be recorded, so that this statistical discrepancy will disappear,” Ebeke said .
The IMF official warned that off-budget spending raises serious concerns over procurement practices, accountability, and institutional oversight .
He noted that the Nigerian government has begun addressing the issue by repealing and revising recent budget laws to incorporate previously unrecorded expenditure, though updated budget implementation reports are still required to fully reflect the changes.
Atiku, in his statement, insisted that the matter transcends accounting procedures and constitutes a constitutional, legal, and moral scandal requiring urgent investigation.
“The Constitution is not a book of suggestions. Section 80 is unequivocal: no money shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund except in the manner prescribed by the National Assembly. Budgetary appropriation is not a ceremonial exercise; it is the legal authority upon which every kobo of public expenditure rests,” Atiku stated.
“If, as the IMF has revealed, expenditure amounting to two per cent of Nigeria’s GDP was omitted from the budget process, then Nigerians are entitled to one simple question: Who stole the missing two per cent of our GDP?” he demanded.
“This is no longer an accounting discrepancy. It is a constitutional, legal and moral scandal. Money does not simply disappear from a national budget. Somebody authorised it. Somebody approved it. Somebody spent it. Somebody benefited from it. Nigerians deserve to know who those people are,” Atiku added.
The former vice president linked the IMF disclosure to the recent controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), describing both incidents as evidence of what he termed systemic institutional corruption under the Tinubu administration .
He argued that the alleged recognition of a “fictitious” government agency, coupled with reports that it received budgetary allocations, reflected what he described as warped fiscal priorities .
“Nothing better illustrates the warped priorities of this administration than a government that starves hospitals and healthcare programmes of funds while ghost agencies somehow find billions waiting for them. This is not fiscal management; it is institutionalised corruption,” Atiku said .
Atiku further referenced allegations made by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, a principal figure linked to the PFIPC controversy, who reportedly claimed that the dispute began after he refused a demand for a 48 per cent kickback from the Office of the Chief of Staff over a proposed ₦27.3 billion take-off grant for the agency .
Describing the allegation as “too serious to ignore,” Atiku called for an independent investigation .
“If the allegations are false, let the government prove them through an open investigation. If they are true, then every official connected with this scandal, regardless of rank or office, must be removed immediately and handed over to the appropriate security agencies for prosecution,” he said.
Atiku called on the National Assembly, the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Public Accounts Committees of both chambers, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the IMF’s findings and establish the facts .
He maintained that the issue transcends partisan politics and touches on constitutional governance .
“The books must be opened. Every naira must be traced. Every expenditure must be justified. Every official found culpable must be held accountable,” Atiku stated.
The former vice president also criticised the Tinubu administration’s economic policies, saying Nigerians were facing severe hardship following the removal of fuel subsidy, rising taxes, increased electricity tariffs, high inflation, and continued borrowing, while questions remained over accountability in public spending .
“It is both ironic and cruel that citizens are being asked to make endless sacrifices while government itself cannot transparently explain where enormous public resources have gone,” he said .
He concluded: “The question before the nation remains simple and unavoidable: Who stole the missing two per cent of Nigeria’s GDP? Until that question is honestly answered, every claim of transparency by this administration will ring hollow” .
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