Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, , has called on the Federal Government to explain public spending allegedly left out of Nigeria’s recent budgets, following concerns raised by the .
Atiku described the issue as proof of “institutional corruption” at the highest level of government.
Responding to the IMF’s revelation that government spending worth two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product was omitted from recent budget records, Atiku said the matter raises serious constitutional and accountability questions that must be investigated immediately.
In a statement released on Saturday through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president insisted the omission could not simply be treated as an accounting mistake.
“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 said.
According to Atiku, “This is no longer an accounting discrepancy” but “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,” he stated.
The ADC leader connected the IMF report to the recent controversy involving the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, which the Presidency has denied creating, saying both incidents suggest a wider pattern of misuse of public institutions.
He noted that while the Federal Ministry of Health reportedly got only ₦36 million despite having over ₦218 billion allocated in the budget, the controversial agency allegedly received around ₦1.3 billion.
“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.
He also urged the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, , to explain how the alleged agency was officially recognised in government processes.
“The Secretary to the Government of the Federation owes Nigerians a duty of candour. He must come clean. The country deserves to know who authorised the recognition of the so-called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and under whose directive government institutions accorded it official status,” he said.
Atiku also referred to allegations by Adeniyi Adeyemi, the main figure in the controversy, who reportedly claimed 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.
Describing the claim as too serious to ignore, Atiku demanded 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.
He added that the controversy comes at a time when Nigerians are facing the impact of subsidy removal, rising electricity tariffs, inflation, multiple taxes and increasing debt.
“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.
Atiku called on the National Assembly, the Auditor-General, the Public Accounts Committees, the , and the to investigate the matter.
He stressed that the issue goes beyond politics and touches the core of constitutional governance and accountability.
“The books must be opened. Every naira must be traced. Every expenditure must be justified. Every official found culpable must be held accountable,” he said.
He maintained that until the government gives a clear explanation for the alleged off-budget spending, “every claim of transparency by this administration will ring hollow.”
