• Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised Nigeria’s financial opacity and systemic corruption revealed in the World Bank report
• In a statement by his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku argued that excessive revenue deductions hindered governance, leading to economic decline and citizen suffering
• The former vice president then called for urgent reforms to ensure transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s fiscal management

Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president of Nigeria, has commented on the recent reports by the World Bank on the fiscal structure of Nigeria, saying that the development was deeply troubling and unacceptable..

Phrank Shaibu, a senior special assistant on public communication to the former vice president, made the claim in a statement sent to Lagit.ng on Wednesday, April 15, noting that the revelation has been alarming and unacceptable.

Atiku knocks Tinubu over Nigeria’s earnings

He stressed that Nigeria is earning more revenue today, yet the Nigerian people are receiving less benefit from it. This contradiction points not just to inefficiency, but to a system vulnerable to abuse, leakage, and the possible diversion of public funds.

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The report confirms what many Nigerians have long suspected: that the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu operates an opaque financial structure that enables systemic corruption.

He noted that excessive deductions from national revenue, before distribution through the Federation Account, have significantly reduced what is available for governance and development across all tiers. He said:

“When large portions of national income are deducted at source, outside full legislative scrutiny, it creates fertile ground for opacity, unaccounted spending, and financial recklessness. That is how nations lose track of their own wealth.”

Atiku warns Tinubu over declining investments

Atiku warned that the consequences are already evident in declining investments in critical sectors and worsening economic conditions for citizens. He noted:

“This is not just a technical fiscal issue; it is a moral one. A government cannot ask citizens to endure painful economic reforms while the gains of those reforms are trapped in a system that lacks transparency and accountability.”

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Aligning with the World Bank’s recommendations, he called for urgent structural reforms. He stated that all agency funding must be brought under the formal budgetary process. Cost-of-collection mechanisms must be reviewed and reduced, and the National Assembly must exercise full oversight over every naira earned by this country. Anything less will only sustain a system where opacity thrives, and public trust is eroded.

He concluded with a stark warning on the direction of the country’s economic management. He said:

“We cannot continue on a path where rising revenues coexist with deepening poverty. When the books are full but the people are empty, it raises serious questions about where the money is truly going. The purpose of governance is not to accumulate figures, but to improve lives, and that purpose is clearly being defeated.”

ADC suspends Atiku

Legit.ng earlier reported that Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president of Nigeria, has been suspended from the coalition party ADC ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Raji Sulaiman Zumo, the factional chairman of the ADC, announced the suspension of the former vice president.

Atiku was suspended alongside Babachir Lawal, the former SGF, amid the leadership crisis rocking the ADC at the state and national levels.

Source: Legit.ng