Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, says a recent United States Department of State report has vindicated his longstanding concerns over the Federal Government’s handling of Nigeria’s public finances.
The report raised concerns over Nigeria’s fiscal transparency, particularly the government’s failure to provide a complete and timely disclosure of revenues and expenditures.
Atiku has repeatedly criticised the Bola Tinubu administration over what he described as inadequate transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.
According to the US report, although the government made its enacted budget and end-of-year report accessible to the public, it failed to publish its executive budget proposal within a reasonable timeframe.
The report further noted that Nigeria’s budget documents did not provide a substantially complete picture of government revenues and expenditures or adequately break down spending by executive offices.
It also identified discrepancies between the approved budget and the actual revenues and expenditures recorded during implementation.
“Actual revenues and expenditures did not reasonably correspond to those in the enacted budget,” the report stated.
The US government also raised concerns about the independence of Nigeria’s Office of the Auditor-General, saying it did not meet international standards of independence and failed to publish substantive reports.
The report concluded that the Tinubu administration did not meet the minimum requirements for fiscal transparency during the period under review, citing inadequate disclosure of government revenues and expenditures and the absence of credible audit trails.
Reacting to the findings, Atiku said the report reinforced concerns he had raised repeatedly about Nigerians’ lack of access to information on how public resources are generated and spent.
“This report confirms what we have been saying: 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,” Atiku said.
He maintained that transparency in public finance was essential to attracting investment, tackling corruption and rebuilding public trust in government.
“Transparency is not a slogan. It is the foundation of good governance,” he had previously said.
Atiku also stressed that fiscal transparency remains a key benchmark for investors, donor agencies and international credit-rating firms, particularly as Nigeria continues to depend on foreign investment and multilateral support to finance infrastructure and social programmes.
He called for the timely publication of detailed information on revenues from oil, taxes and borrowing, as well as clear disclosure of how the funds are spent.
According to him, such disclosures are critical to restoring confidence in the economy amid rising debt and inflation.
