Atiku Demands Tinubu Reveal Who Stole 2% of Nigeria’s GDP After IMF Disclosure

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on President Bola Tinubu to name the individuals responsible for diverting public expenditure equivalent to two per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product. Atiku made the demand on Saturday in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, following a revelation by the International Monetary Fund that Nigeria omitted public expenditure worth two per cent of GDP from recent budgets.

IMF Revelation Exposes Institutional Corruption, Atiku Says

Reacting to the IMF’s disclosure, Atiku said the fund’s finding has exposed what appears to be a deeply entrenched system of institutional corruption under the Tinubu administration. He argued that the IMF’s revelation, coming on the heels of the scandal surrounding the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, paints the picture of a government where public institutions are increasingly being converted into instruments for opaque financial dealings.

“The Constitution is not a book of suggestions. Section 80 is unequivocal: no money shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund except in the manner prescribed by the National Assembly. Budgetary appropriation is not a ceremonial exercise; it is the legal authority upon which every kobo of public expenditure rests,” Atiku stated.

Who Stole the Missing Two Per Cent of Our GDP?

Atiku pressed further: “If, as the IMF has revealed, expenditure amounting to two per cent of Nigeria’s GDP was omitted from the budget process, then Nigerians are entitled to one simple question: Who stole the missing two per cent of our GDP?” He described the omission as no longer an accounting discrepancy but a constitutional, legal and moral scandal.

“Money does not simply disappear from a national budget. Somebody authorised it. Somebody approved it. Somebody spent it. Somebody benefited from it. Nigerians deserve to know who those people are,” he added.

Atiku: Every Claim of Transparency Rings Hollow Until Question Is Answered

The former presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress said the question before the nation remains simple and unavoidable: Who stole the missing two per cent of Nigeria’s GDP? Until that question is honestly answered, every claim of transparency by this administration will ring hollow, Atiku declared.

For Nigerian businesses and consumers, the IMF’s finding raises serious concerns about fiscal accountability and the integrity of public spending. If two per cent of GDP – a significant sum in absolute terms – was omitted from budget processes without explanation, it signals weak oversight that could undermine investor confidence and the naira’s stability in the long run.