…Says Nigerians are starving while Tinubu amasses funds for 2027 Election War Chest

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of operating a ₦8.8 trillion “shadow treasury” outside the national budget, alleging that the funds are being amassed as a war chest for the 2027 general elections while Nigerians face worsening economic hardship.

Atiku, the 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, raised the alarm on Friday in a statement, citing a July 1, 2026, International Monetary Fund Article IV report published by Reuters.

The ADC leader said the IMF report revealed that about 2 percent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, estimated at ₦8.8 trillion based on a ₦441.5 trillion economy, was spent in recent budgets without statutory recording, audit or legislative oversight.

“I view this revelation with the gravest alarm,” Atiku said. “The Tinubu administration is awarding multi-trillion-naira contracts, moving massive public capital, and commissioning infrastructure projects entirely beyond the reach of the Auditor-General, the nation’s procurement laws, and the legitimate oversight of the National Assembly. It is a parallel fiscal universe, one governed by executive whim.”

He added that the IMF’s resident representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, confirmed the discrepancy arose from “large-scale government projects executed off-budget entirely.”

Atiku likened the alleged practice to the “Alpha Beta arrangement” in Lagos State during Tinubu’s tenure as governor, where he claimed between 10 and 30 percent of internally generated revenue disappeared before budget capture.

“What the IMF has now documented at the federal level is that same Lagos playbook, replicated at national scale and with national consequences,” he said.

“The man who perfected the art of the off-budget economy in Lagos has brought that ‘Beta’ form to Abuja, and the price is being paid by 220 million Nigerians.”

The former vice president also alleged that ₦800 billion was “illegally deducted” from statutory allocations due to state governments under the Progressives Governors Forum, without National Assembly approval or court order.

“We state clearly and without equivocation that this ₦800 billion, combined with the ₦8.8 trillion in unrecorded federal expenditures, points unmistakably to the construction of a massive, multi-source political war chest being assembled ahead of the 2027 general elections,” Atiku said.

Atiku linked the alleged secret spending to the current economic pain, including fuel subsidy removal, naira devaluation, and high interest rates.

“While the poor were told to bleed, the government maintained access to a ₦8.8 trillion shadow treasury, entirely outside public view, entirely beyond legislative oversight,” he said. “The interest rates crushing Nigerian businesses, the weak Naira destroying Nigerian savings… are not the unavoidable consequences of global headwinds. They are, at least in part, the direct result of a government that has removed from the productive economy ₦8.8 trillion.”

He noted that the ₦8.8 trillion is equivalent to about $5.5 billion, the same scale as the $10 billion economic stimulus he proposed during the 2023 campaign.

Atiku called for immediate action from democratic institutions:

He asked the National Assembly to convene emergency investigative hearings on the IMF findings.

He equally said the Auditor-General should conduct a full, independent audit of all off-budget expenditures and publish findings without redaction.

Atiku insisted the Federal Government should provide a full public account of every naira spent outside the official budget, including projects, contractors and authorising officials.

He also said the Federal Government should refund to states immediately and restore the ₦800 billion deducted from state allocations.

The former Vice President said EFCC and ICPC should open formal investigations independent of the Presidency.

Civil society and the international community should respond with urgency to the disclosure, he urged.

“A government that governs in secret spends in secret. A government that spends in secret does not govern; it plunders,” Atiku said.

“The evidence is on the record. The figures are not in dispute. The only question… is whether we will summon the collective will to demand accountability.”

As of press time, the Federal Government had not issued an official response to Atiku’s allegations.

Human rights activist, Dickson Iroegbu, has said that there would be a revolution if anybody stops the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, from being on the ballot in the 2027 general elections.

Iroegbu made this statement in an interview on Mic-On podcast with a media personality, Seun Okinbaloye, on Saturday night.

This comes amid confusion over the status of the NDC following the judgement of the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State.

Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC had earlier denied the NDC access to its portal for the upload of candidates.

It, however, later rescinded that decision.

But, Iroegbu, who spoke in an interview on Mic-On podcast with a media personality, Seun Okinbaloye, on Saturday night, charged the INEC to be careful if it thinks there would be a glitch in 2027.

He noted that the electoral body will be shocked because the Nigerian people will keep eternal vigilance this time around because they have had enough.

According to him, the fear of the NDC presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is a challenge for the All Progressives Congress, APC, and President Bola Tinubu.

“There will be revolution and anarchy in the land if anybody thinks he can stop the NDC from being on the ballot.

“Anyone who thinks he can push the NDC aside is calling for anarchy.

“Tinubu is overrated. He may have succeeded in grabbing and running with power in 2023. But in 2027, he will be shocked that we will hold him down and ensure the result is counted.

“If Nigerians do not end the APC, then APC may end Nigeria,” he stated.

Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to resign, citing an International Monetary Fund, IMF, report which, according to him, showed that about N8.83 trillion spent by the Federal Government in 2025 was not reflected in the national budget.

The development was disclosed in a statement posted on Obi’s official page on July 5, 2026.

According to the statement, Obi alleged that the reported expenditure was not captured in the 2025 budget and therefore fell outside legislative oversight and administrative scrutiny.

The former Anambra State governor argued that the amount represents about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, and exceeds the combined 2025 budgetary allocations to the education and health sectors.

According to Obi, the funds, if properly utilised, could have improved public education and healthcare, created employment opportunities and supported economic development across the country.

“The IMF now reveals that about N8.83 trillion in expenditure undertaken in 2025 is not reflected in the budget.

“This expenditure is not budgeted and is therefore not under legislative oversight or administrative scrutiny,” he stated.

Obi further alleged that the reported expenditure reflects what he described as a pattern of corruption and disregard for public finance management under the current administration.

He argued that such practices pose risks to national security, deepen poverty and weaken public institutions.

He also described the Tinubu administration as corrupt, incompetent and insensitive, alleging that the government has failed to utilise available resources to address Nigeria’s infrastructure and social welfare challenges.

Obi maintained that the latest IMF report further reinforced his earlier position on the administration, saying, “The only reasonable action is for President Tinubu to resign from office.”

He urged Nigerians to demand greater accountability from the government through lawful means.