30trn, Where Is The Money? – Atiku Puts Tinubu On Spot, Demands Account Of Subsidy Windfall

• Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged President Bola Tinubu to account for an estimated ₦30 trillion in Federation revenues, deductions, savings, transfers and related funds, saying a reconciliation of publicly available figures has continued to raise questions about the management of Nigeria’s finances.

• The ADC presidential candidate says the latest July 2026 Federation Account figures have deepened the controversy, with gross statutory revenue rising to ₦4.359 trillion while ₦3.007 trillion was approved for distribution to the Federal Government, states and local councils.

• Atiku has specifically demanded an account of the financial gains from fuel subsidy removal, arguing that Nigerians were made to endure painful increases in fuel, transport and living costs on the promise that the savings and additional revenues would be redirected to development.

• He has challenged the Tinubu administration to publish a comprehensive ledger from June 2023, showing every deduction, beneficiary, transfer, saving, intervention, refund, balance and legal authority, while questioning why Nigeria continues to borrow heavily if substantial fiscal savings genuinely exist.

August 19, () — Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has put President Bola Tinubu under fresh pressure over the management of Nigeria’s Federation revenues, demanding an explanation for what he described as an approximately ₦30 trillion financial mystery requiring transparent reconciliation.

Atiku’s latest broadside came on Wednesday through a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, in which he said the latest July 2026 Federation Account figures had reinforced concerns raised in his earlier analysis of government revenue figures.

The former Vice President said his previous reconciliation had identified approximately ₦28 trillion in Federation revenues, deductions, savings, transfers and related funds requiring explanation up to June 2026.

According to him, the July figures show that the pattern has continued, taking the cumulative amount requiring proper public accounting towards ₦30 trillion.

“The question President Tinubu must answer remains painfully simple: Where is the money?” Atiku asked..

July Revenue Figures Under Fresh Scrutiny

The allegation comes against the backdrop of the government’s defence of its economic reforms, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy and foreign-exchange reforms, which officials say have strengthened government revenues and laid the foundation for long-term economic recovery.

Atiku’s latest argument was partly triggered by recent Federation Account figures. The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) approved the distribution of ₦3.007 trillion to the Federal Government, the 36 states and 774 local government councils as July 2026 revenue.

Gross statutory revenue for the month stood at ₦4.359 trillion, representing an increase of ₦658.087 billion, or 17.8 per cent, over the ₦3.700 trillion recorded in June. FAAC attributed the improvement to stronger collections from oil and non-oil revenue sources.

The Federal Government received ₦1.146 trillion, the states received ₦943.352 billion, while the local government councils received ₦673.649 billion. A further ₦243.478 billion, representing 13 per cent derivation from mineral revenue, was shared with benefiting states.

Atiku, however, argued that the figures should not merely be viewed as evidence of improved revenue generation but should trigger closer scrutiny of what happens to the funds between collection and distribution.

“The madness continues. Month after month, trillions of naira enter the Federation accounts, and month after month enormous amounts are removed under different classifications before the balance is distributed”, he said.

He maintained that the government’s published figures, rather than opposition estimates, should provide the basis for a complete reconciliation.

“Our reconciliation previously identified approximately ₦28 trillion requiring explanation up to June 2026. July shows that the pattern has continued. The cumulative amount of Federation revenues, deductions, savings, transfers and related funds requiring transparent reconciliation is now approaching ₦30 trillion”, he said.

Atiku challenged the administration to disprove his calculation with verifiable financial records.

“If the Tinubu administration disputes that figure, the answer is not another press statement. Publish the ledger”, he said.

The former Vice President went further by citing historical Federation Account figures which he said illustrate the need for greater transparency. He recalled that in January 2024, ₦2.068 trillion was reported as available revenue, but only ₦1.149 trillion was distributed.

In June 2025, he said, ₦4.232 trillion was available, while ₦1.818 trillion was shared. By June 2026, according to the figures cited by Atiku, ₦4.501 trillion was reported as available, but only ₦2.551 trillion was distributed.

Official June figures showed that the ₦2.551 trillion distributed comprised ₦1.810 trillion in statutory revenue and ₦740.724 billion from Value Added Tax, with allocations made among the three tiers of government and derivation funds.

Atiku said the differences between gross revenue and distributable revenue should be clearly explained to the public.

“These are not accounting footnotes. This is the wealth of the Nigerian people. These are also government figures, not ours. The accounts are in the custody of the government, not the opposition. Therefore, the burden is on President Tinubu and his administration to tell Nigerians what happened to their money”, he said

Atiku rejected the suggestion that citizens should be left to decipher complex government accounting classifications on their own.

“Government cannot demand that citizens prove what happened to public funds whose collection, custody, deductions and disbursement are exclusively under its control”, he said.

He, therefore, demanded that the administration publish the accounts, identify every deduction and beneficiary, and disclose all transfers, savings and balances.

Atiku Zeroes In On Subsidy Windfall

But the most politically explosive aspect of Atiku’s statement was his demand for an account of the financial gains associated with the removal of petroleum and energy subsidies.

The Tinubu administration removed the petrol subsidy shortly after taking office in May 2023, arguing that the policy had become fiscally unsustainable and was consuming resources that could otherwise be deployed to development. The reform immediately triggered a sharp increase in petrol prices, followed by higher transportation and production costs and increased pressure on household incomes.

The government has repeatedly defended the policy, maintaining that subsidy removal has significantly increased revenues available for distribution to the Federal Government and subnational governments.

Atiku, however, argued that Nigerians were asked to endure the economic pain on the understanding that the savings and additional revenues would be channelled into development.

“President Tinubu did not ask Nigerians to endure the agony of subsidy removal so that the proceeds could become unexplained stashed funds beyond public scrutiny. The savings and additional revenues generated by these reforms belong to the Nigerian people. They are not the private reserves of the Presidency or any government agency”, he said.

Atiku said the gains from subsidy removal should be visible in projects and services capable of improving the productive capacity and welfare of Nigerians.

He listed inter-state rail connectivity, expanded capacity for universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, stronger primary healthcare facilities, improved public transportation and infrastructure that could lower the cost of doing business.

“Instead, Nigerians are paying more for petrol, electricity, transportation and food while the government celebrates record revenues without providing an equally transparent account of what happened to the proceeds of their sacrifice”, he said.

‘If These Trillions Exist, Why Is Nigeria Borrowing?’

Atiku also questioned the apparent contradiction between the government’s claims of improved revenues and savings and Nigeria’s continued dependence on borrowing. He asked the administration to explain whether the funds were saved, transferred, spent or retained in government accounts.

“If these trillions genuinely exist as savings, where are they and why is Nigeria borrowing so aggressively? If the money has been transferred, who received it? If it has been spent, what was it spent on? If it remains in government accounts, what are the balances today?

These are straightforward questions. President Tinubu should provide straightforward answers,” he demanded.

Earlier this month, Atiku challenged government claims concerning the use of subsidy savings, arguing that publicly available figures did not support the administration’s narrative about how the savings were being deployed. He also questioned claims that subsidy savings were being used to reduce government indebtedness.

“For every naira removed before distribution, Nigerians deserve to know the amount, beneficiary, purpose, date, destination and legal authority”, he said.

The former Vice President argued that transparency cannot be achieved simply by assigning accounting labels to large sums without providing sufficient information for Nigerians to trace the money.

“Transparency is not achieved by attaching convenient accounting labels to trillions of naira. It is achieved by opening the books”, he said.

Atiku also framed the issue as a question of public accountability, insisting that Nigerians who have endured the consequences of subsidy removal and other economic reforms should not be denied access to information about the resources generated from those policies.

“President Tinubu asked Nigerians to make sacrifices. Nigerians have sacrificed enough. What they cannot be asked to sacrifice is their constitutional right to know what happened to their money.

“If the approximately ₦30 trillion is properly accounted for, President Tinubu should publish the ledger and show Nigerians where every naira went”, Atiku said.