Nigeria’s former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has accused President of either being complicit in or unaware of what he described as widespread budgetary irregularities and the controversy surrounding the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by his spokesman, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said attempts by the Presidency to exonerate the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, from allegations linked to the PFIPC had only deepened public suspicion and ridicule.
The ADC presidential hopeful alleged that fresh findings from the 2026 Appropriation Act revealed a pattern of budget manipulation through the insertion of projects into agencies that lack the legal mandate to execute them.
According to him, the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education, an agency established to address Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis, was allocated billions of naira for road construction projects unrelated to its statutory responsibilities.
Atiku cited provisions in the budget showing that about N1.4 billion was earmarked for the rehabilitation and construction of roads, including Obasanjo-Itele Road, Nazareth Road Oke Ola, Imeko, Idogo Township Road and Odedeyo-Mewuro Road.
He added that another N1.4 billion was allocated for projects including the Eyini High School-Lusada Junction Road, Ibooro, Idiya Central Community Road, Roundabout Abeokuta, Ile Ise Community Asuje Road and Soyote Community Road in Abeokuta.
The statement further claimed that N1.05 billion was budgeted for Pakuj-Yporan Township Road in Ipokia Ward 2, while another N1.05 billion was provided for RCC Opposite Honda Agbebi Community Road and Ajuwon Baale Road.
Questioning the rationale behind the allocations, Atiku asked when the commission responsible for Almajiri and out-of-school children education had become a road construction agency.
He argued that at a time when millions of Nigerian children remain outside the classroom and educational infrastructure continues to deteriorate, diverting the commission’s resources to road projects represented “a cruel betrayal” of its core mandate.
According to him, the allocations suggested a deliberate attempt to conceal questionable projects within agencies that ordinarily attract little public scrutiny, making it easier for public funds to be diverted.
Atiku also linked the latest allegations to what he described as a recurring pattern under the current administration, recalling claims that funds allocated to the Federal College of Education, Umunze, in the 2023 budget were allegedly redirected to constituency projects in Surulere I Federal Constituency while Gbajabiamila served as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
He maintained that the latest revelations should not be dismissed as administrative errors but rather viewed as part of a broader trend of budget padding, insertions and diversion of public funds.
The former vice president also revisited allegations made by Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who reportedly claimed that Gbajabiamila demanded billions of naira, including an alleged upfront payment of N400 million and about N12.5 billion from the proposed N27.4 billion take-off grant for the PFIPC, as a condition for securing his appointment as Director-General.
Atiku said the Presidency could not dismiss such allegations through official statements alone, insisting that several questions remained unanswered.
“If Prince Adeyemi is indeed the fraudster government spokespersons now portray him to be, why has he not been arraigned before a competent court since he was first invited for questioning? Why is the organisation reportedly still operating from the Federal Secretariat? How was he able to pay a courtesy visit to the leadership of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission while supposedly under investigation?” he asked.
He argued that the controversy was assuming dimensions more troubling than the case involving former pension reform chairman, , noting that law enforcement agencies had acted swiftly in the Maina case through investigations, arrests and prosecution.
According to Mr Atiku, President Tinubu cannot claim ignorance because the budget bears his signature and the agencies involved operate under his administration.
“If billions of naira can be hidden under agencies with no legal mandate to execute such projects, then either the President approved these distortions or he was completely unaware of what was happening under his watch. The first possibility amounts to complicity. The second amounts to an absentee presidency,” he said.
The former vice president also challenged the National Assembly to explain how the disputed allocations passed legislative scrutiny, arguing that Parliament was created to safeguard public funds rather than approve questionable appropriations without interrogation.
He called for a full, transparent and independent investigation into both the alleged budget irregularities and the PFIPC controversy, insisting that Nigerians deserve clear answers from the government.
