Atiku Demands Account of ₦30tn Federation Revenues, Challenges Tinubu
By Umar Usman Duguri
ABUJA — Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to provide a comprehensive account of approximately ₦30 trillion in Federation revenues, including deductions, savings, transfers and other related funds which he said require transparent reconciliation.
Atiku made the demand in a statement issued on Wednesday, following the latest Federation Account figures for July 2026, which he said showed that the concerns he had repeatedly raised over the management of public revenues had persisted.
The former Vice President argued that Nigerians deserved a clear, month-by-month explanation of how Federation revenues had been generated, deducted, transferred, saved and ultimately distributed since the Tinubu administration assumed office.
According to reports on Atiku's latest statement, he is demanding a detailed ledger covering the period from June 2023 to date, with particular emphasis on deductions and transfers that, in his assessment, require further explanation.
The demand comes amid continued scrutiny of the Federation Account and the difference between gross revenue available and the amount eventually distributed to the Federal Government, states and local governments.
At the July 2026 Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting, government authorities reported that ₦2.551 trillion was distributed among the Federal Government, the 36 states and the 774 local government councils from June 2026 revenues.
The Federal Ministry of Information said the distributable amount comprised ₦1.810 trillion in statutory revenue and ₦740.724 billion in Value Added Tax (VAT).
However, figures released from the same FAAC process showed that ₦4.5 trillion in gross revenue had been available for the month, while deductions for cost of collection amounted to about ₦160.744 billion, with transfers and refunds put at approximately ₦1.789 trillion.
It is this broader gap between gross revenues, deductions, transfers and distributable funds that Atiku says requires greater public scrutiny.
The ADC candidate has repeatedly accused the Tinubu administration of inadequate fiscal transparency and has called for greater disclosure of government revenues and expenditures.
In July, Atiku also questioned the Federal Government's continued domestic borrowing despite what he described as an estimated ₦7.98 trillion oil-revenue windfall, arguing that higher crude oil prices should have strengthened government finances and reduced the need for aggressive borrowing.
He has similarly raised questions over the 2026 budget's Service-Wide Vote, which he said increased sharply from ₦638 billion in 2025 to ₦12.8 trillion in 2026, describing the increase as a major concern for fiscal accountability.
Atiku's latest demand therefore places the management of Federation revenues at the centre of the emerging 2027 political debate, with the ADC presidential candidate insisting that Nigerians should be able to trace public funds from the point of collection to their final application.
He is calling for a transparent reconciliation of the figures rather than broad explanations, arguing that every major deduction, transfer and saving should be identifiable and supported by official documentation.
The demand is likely to intensify the political debate over the Tinubu administration's economic management as the country moves closer to the 2027 general elections.
The figures and allegations cited by Atiku represent his assessment of the government's fiscal management; the reported FAAC figures, however, are official figures published by government authorities.