Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Tinubu administration of operating a “parallel fiscal universe,” citing an IMF report that found N8.8 trillion in federal expenditure was spent outside Nigeria’s official budget framework.
Atiku Abubakar isn’t holding back on this one.
The former Vice President has raised alarm over an IMF report indicating that ₦8.8 trillion in federal expenditures went unrecorded in official budget documents, accusing the Tinubu administration of running a “parallel fiscal universe” ahead of the 2027 elections.
In a statement issued Saturday, Atiku cited a July 1, 2026 IMF Article IV report published by Reuters, which found that about 2% of Nigeria’s GDP was spent outside the statutory budget framework. “At the current valuation of Nigeria’s economy at approximately ₦441.5 trillion, this figure translates to a staggering ₦8.8 trillion in public funds spent entirely outside the statutory framework of Nigeria’s official budget documents, unaccounted for, unaudited, and hidden from the Nigerian people,” he said.
He described the revelation as “the most consequential act of fiscal impunity in Nigeria’s recent democratic history,” urging the media, civil society, the National Assembly and other democratic institutions to prioritise the issue.
Atiku said the IMF report, through its resident representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, traced the discrepancy to “large-scale government projects executed entirely off-budget.” He added: “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.”
He drew comparisons to Tinubu’s tenure as Lagos governor, referencing the “Alpha Beta arrangement.”
Atiku further alleged that ₦800 billion was “illegally deducted from the statutory allocations of state governments” without National Assembly approval, a court order, or constitutional basis, claiming state governments under the Progressives Governors Forum had their allocations “raided to fund projects and purposes that have never been disclosed to the Nigerian public.”
“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,” he alleged.
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