Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State governor Peter Obi have called for investigations into allegations that Nigeria failed to disclose public spending estimated at about ₦8.83 trillion in recent official budgets, following observations attributed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The opposition figures separately demanded greater accountability and transparency from the Federal Government over the reported expenditure, which the IMF was said to have linked to projects executed outside the formal budget framework.
According to reports, the IMF’s Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, stated that unreported government expenditure equivalent to about two per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) made Nigeria’s fiscal deficit appear lower than its actual financing requirements and raised concerns over fiscal transparency.
Reacting to the development, Atiku called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the National Assembly and the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation to investigate the alleged off-budget spending.
The former vice president, who is the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, said the amount involved translates to approximately ₦8.8 trillion, which he alleged was spent without legislative approval, audit or adequate public accountability.
According to him, the reported findings suggest that multi-trillion-naira projects may have been executed outside the oversight of the National Assembly, the Auditor-General and the country’s procurement framework.
Atiku further alleged that the Tinubu administration was operating what he described as a “shadow treasury” despite implementing painful economic reforms.
He also claimed that an additional ₦800 billion had been deducted from statutory allocations due to states, alleging that the funds were being accumulated ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The former vice president urged the National Assembly to immediately investigate the reported IMF findings, conduct an independent audit of all alleged off-budget expenditures and ensure that any improperly withheld statutory allocations are refunded.
Obi also expressed concern over the reported disclosure, describing it as another indication of what he termed poor fiscal accountability.
Writing on his X handle, the former Labour Party presidential candidate argued that the reported ₦8.83 trillion expenditure was not reflected in the national budget and therefore fell outside normal legislative oversight.
He noted that the amount exceeded 35 per cent of the 2025 capital budget and was larger than the combined federal allocations to the education and health sectors.
According to Obi, if properly appropriated and transparently managed, such resources could have substantially improved public education, healthcare and other critical sectors.
The former Anambra State governor said the reported discrepancy reinforced concerns about financial management under the current administration and renewed his call for President Bola Tinubu to resign, alleging failures in accountability, governance and public welfare.
He also urged Nigerians to continue demanding greater openness in the management of public resources.
The IMF was reported to have explained that the discrepancy arose mainly from government projects executed outside the formal annual budget process.
However, the Fund also acknowledged that the Federal Government had begun reforms aimed at improving fiscal reporting, including proposed amendments to budget laws and measures to enhance transparency and the timely publication of budget implementation reports.
The development has triggered renewed debate over Nigeria’s fiscal management and public finance practices, with opposition figures demanding investigations, while the Federal Government has maintained that all public expenditures were carried out within the country’s constitutional and legal framework and has rejected claims that it operated any form of “shadow budget.”