‘₦8.8tn cannot disappear’: IMF findings spark outrage as Atiku seeks audit of Tinubu’s alleged off-budget

Atiku Abubakar has called for an emergency investigation into what he described as a “constitutional emergency” following an International Monetary Fund report indicating that public expenditures equivalent to about two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product were not captured in recent federal budgets.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate alleged that about ₦8.8 trillion was spent outside the country’s statutory budget process under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

According to Atiku, the IMF’s findings point to “the most consequential act of fiscal impunity in Nigeria’s recent democratic history.”

“The revelation of ₦8.8 trillion in unrecorded public expenditures is a constitutional emergency, not a matter to be managed through ministerial press conferences,” he said.

The former vice president claimed that large-scale government projects were allegedly executed outside legislative oversight, procurement laws and the scrutiny of the Auditor-General.

He urged the National Assembly to immediately convene investigative hearings into the IMF’s findings.

Atiku also demanded an independent audit by the Auditor-General of all off-budget expenditures referenced in the IMF’s Article IV consultation.

He further called on the Federal Government to publicly disclose every project funded outside the official budget, identify the contractors involved and explain the procurement processes followed.

“The Federal Government must provide a full and transparent account of every naira spent outside the official budget,” he said.

The opposition leader also urged anti-corruption agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, to launch independent investigations into the alleged unrecorded expenditures.