Atiku Knocks Tinubu Following US Report On Budget Spending
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu over a United States Department of State report which raised concerns about Nigeria’s fiscal transparency.
Atiku, in a statement issued by his Media Office on Thursday, said the report vindicated his longstanding criticism of the Tinubu administration over alleged shortcomings in the disclosure of government revenues and expenditures.
The US report, according to Atiku, found that although the Nigerian government made its enacted budget and end-of-year report publicly accessible, it failed to publish its executive budget proposal within a reasonable period.
It further noted that Nigeria’s budget documents did not provide a substantially complete picture of government revenues and expenditures or sufficiently break down spending to support executive offices.
The report also raised concerns over discrepancies between the approved budget and actual revenue and expenditure during implementation.
“Actual revenues and expenditures did not reasonably correspond to those in the enacted budget,” the statement quoted the report as saying.
The former Vice President said the findings were consistent with his repeated calls for greater transparency and accountability in the management of public resources.
He also cited the report’s criticism of the Office of the Auditor-General, which it said did not meet international standards of independence and failed to publish substantive reports.
According to Atiku, the US Department of State concluded that the Tinubu administration did not meet the minimum requirements for fiscal transparency during the period under review.
“This is precisely what Atiku Abubakar has been saying for years: that Nigerians are being kept in the dark about how public resources are generated and spent,” the statement said.
Atiku argued that full disclosure of government revenues and expenditures was essential to attracting investment, fighting corruption and restoring public confidence.
“Transparency is not a slogan. It is the foundation of good governance,” he said, recalling one of his previous interventions on fiscal accountability.
Reacting to the US report, Atiku said Nigerians had a right to know how public resources were generated and spent.
“This report confirms what we have been saying that Nigerians deserve to know where every kobo is coming from and where it is being spent. They are our resources and not the resources of President Bola Tinubu and his family and friends,” he said.
The ADC presidential candidate further stressed that fiscal transparency was an important benchmark for investors, donor agencies and international credit rating institutions.
He noted that Nigeria’s reliance on foreign investment and multilateral support for infrastructure and social programmes made credible financial reporting particularly important.
Atiku therefore called for the publication of detailed and timely information on government revenues from oil, taxes and borrowing, as well as expenditure records.
He said such disclosure was necessary to restore confidence in the Nigerian economy, particularly amid concerns over rising debt and inflation.
Atiku “reiterated that publishing detailed, timely data on revenue from oil, taxes, and borrowing, and on how that money is spent is critical to restoring confidence amid rising debt and inflation.”
