Atiku Abubakar Criticizes Nigeria's Fiscal Mismanagement Highlighted by World Bank
In a recent statement, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar voiced strong criticism regarding the troubling findings released by the World Bank on Nigeria's fiscal structure. He labeled the situation as both alarming and entirely unacceptable.
Commenting through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Abubakar stated, “What the World Bank has revealed is both alarming and unacceptable. 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.”
He emphasized that the findings of the World Bank reinforce longstanding suspicions held by many Nigerians—specifically, that the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu is operating under a financial structure that is both opaque and conducive to systemic corruption.
Abubakar noted that significant deductions from the national revenue prior to its distribution through the Federation Account have drastically constrained the resources available for governance and development initiatives across all levels of the government.
“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. This is how nations lose track of their own wealth,” he warned.
He pointed out that the ramifications of this fiscal mismanagement are becoming increasingly evident, with declining investments in vital sectors and deteriorating economic conditions for citizens. “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,” he added.
Echoing the World Bank's recommendations, Abubakar urgently called for structural reforms, outlining key actions that need to be taken:
- All agency funding should be incorporated into the formal budgetary process.
- Cost-of-collection mechanisms must be reviewed and minimized.
- The National Assembly must exert full oversight over every naira earned in the country.
“Anything less will only sustain a system where opacity thrives and public trust is eroded,” he cautioned.
Concluding his remarks, Abubakar issued a serious warning regarding the trajectory of the nation's economic management, stating, “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.”