Former Vice President of Nigeria and Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has said that the revelation of over ₦210 billion in overlapping and duplicated allocations in the 2026 Federal Budget, coupled with Nigeria’s poor performance on nearly 90 per cent of globally recognised prosperity indicators, exposes the Tinubu administration as one of the most fiscally reckless governments in the country’s democratic history.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the two independent reports had stripped away the propaganda surrounding the administration’s so-called economic reforms and revealed what he described as a painful truth: that Nigeria is not failing because of a lack of resources, but because of a profound failure of leadership.

“For more than three years, Nigerians have been subjected to relentless hardship. They were told that fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, higher taxes and rising tariffs were bitter pills that would eventually restore economic stability. Yet today, the same government cannot explain how more than ₦210 billion found its way into duplicated and overlapping budget provisions.

“When a government asks its people to sacrifice, it must first demonstrate discipline. Instead, what Nigerians have seen is a budget riddled with duplication, questionable insertions, overlapping projects and expenditures that offend both common sense and fiscal responsibility.”

Atiku said the latest revelation did not emerge in isolation but added to a growing catalogue of troubling budget practices that have repeatedly raised serious questions about the integrity of public finance.

“In recent months, Nigerians have witnessed budgetary allocations for projects outside the statutory mandates of agencies, controversial insertions running into billions of naira, and expenditures that bear little relationship to the pressing needs of ordinary citizens. Rather than responding with transparency, the government has too often resorted to denial before reluctantly acknowledging problems when confronted with overwhelming evidence.

“Nothing illustrates the bankruptcy of this administration’s so-called reforms more than the fuel subsidy deception. Nigerians were told in 2023 that the subsidy was gone and were compelled to endure unprecedented hardship—skyrocketing fuel prices, crushing transportation costs, runaway inflation and a collapsing standard of living—in the name of economic reform.

“Yet NNPC Limited’s own audited 2024 financial statements reveal that a staggering ₦7.13 trillion was still expended on what it describes as ‘Energy Security Expenses,’ a category the company itself identifies as petrol subsidy, otherwise known as under-recovery.

“This means Nigerians were never told the whole truth. The subsidy was not eliminated; it was merely repackaged, renamed and quietly charged to the Federation. A government that conceals ₦7.13 trillion behind a convenient euphemism while demanding sacrifice from millions of struggling citizens cannot claim the moral authority to preach reform, prudence or fiscal discipline.

“Nigerians deserve to know who authorised this expenditure, who benefited from it, and why the administration chose to market deception as economic reform.”

According to Atiku Abubakar, the pattern demonstrates that the problem is no longer one of isolated errors but a systemic breakdown in budget discipline.

“The national budget is the single most important economic policy document of any government. It should reflect national priorities, inspire investor confidence and assure citizens that every naira borrowed or earned will be spent wisely.

“When that document itself becomes contaminated by duplication and overlapping allocations, confidence in the entire machinery of government is undermined.”

The former Vice President said the consequences of what he described as fiscal indiscipline were evident in Nigeria’s declining prosperity rankings.

“While government officials celebrate selective macroeconomic indicators, Nigerians are experiencing a different economy entirely. Families are skipping meals. Parents are struggling to pay school fees. Small businesses are shutting their doors. Manufacturers continue to battle soaring production costs. Young graduates cannot find jobs. Farmers are trapped between insecurity and inflation.

“It therefore comes as no surprise that Nigeria is now lagging behind its peers across almost every meaningful indicator of prosperity. A nation cannot budget for waste and expect prosperity. It cannot institutionalise inefficiency and hope for development.”