In a major political showdown over national fiscal transparency, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has called on the leadership of the National Assembly to halt further execution of the 2026 Appropriation Act and immediately launch an independent forensic investigation into the fiscal document.
The demand follows a detailed analytical review of the signed budget, which exposed over ₦210 billion in duplicated line items, overlapping project provisions, and inflated sub-heads across various federal ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
Speaking to political correspondents at a press briefing in Abuja on Saturday evening, July 18, 2026, Atiku described the financial discrepancies as a “deliberate sabotage of Nigeria’s economic recovery.” He asserted that the presence of such vast overlaps at a time when the nation is grappling with severe macroeconomic pressures is a betrayal of public trust.
”We cannot look the other way while billions of Naira meant for critical infrastructure are quietly siphoned through bureaucratic duplications,” Atiku said. “The National Assembly must live up to its oversight responsibilities and order an immediate forensic audit. The Nigerian people deserve to know who inserted these repetitions and for what purpose.”
The ADC leader also highlighted specific irregularities where identical capital projects were discovered to be funded multiple times under different sub-captions within the same ministry. He noted that this development invalidates the administration’s claims of operating a transparent, zero-based budgeting system for the 2026 fiscal year.
The opposition flagbearer warned that if the legislature fails to act swiftly within the coming days, the ADC would mobilize civil society organizations and legal experts to seek a judicial review to compel the government to clean up the budget.
The presidency and the National Assembly leadership have yet to issue a formal rebuttal or statement regarding the ₦210 billion budget duplication allegations as of press time.
