By Joyce Ekeh
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged the Federal Government to explain why states are sinking deeper into debt despite what the Bola Tinubu administration describes as an unprecedented boom in allocations from the Federation Account.
Atiku, the Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, said the rising debt burden of states contradicted the Federal Government’s celebration of record Federal Account Allocation Committee, FAAC, revenues, arguing that increased naira allocations had not translated into improved living standards for Nigerians.
In a press statement issued yesterday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the government’s revenue narrative amounted to a “money illusion” when measured against currency depreciation and inflation.
He asked why states were “swimming in unprecedented revenues” yet remained heavily indebted.
“A September 2026 report based on Debt Management Office data shows that just 12 states whose governors are approaching the end of their tenures carry a combined debt burden of approximately ₦5.3 trillion, comprising ₦2.16 trillion in domestic debt and about $2.33 billion in foreign obligations,” he said.
Atiku said the figures raised fundamental questions about the management of the increased allocations.
“So spare Nigerians the victory parade. You cannot boast endlessly about unprecedented FAAC allocations while states remain heavily indebted, pension and gratuity obligations persist, contractors chase payments and governments continue to carry enormous liabilities,” he said.
“If the money is as unprecedented as we are constantly told, Nigerians have every right to ask the most elementary question: where has the money gone?”
The former vice president argued that increased government revenue should not be celebrated merely because it was reflected in larger naira figures, insisting that its real value must be measured by its impact on the economy and citizens.
“What is the purpose of a revenue boom if liabilities remain enormous? What is the meaning of record allocations if governments continue borrowing and citizens cannot see a corresponding improvement in their standard of living?” he asked.
Atiku further argued that the apparent growth in FAAC allocations had been eroded by the depreciation of the naira.
“The arithmetic is brutal. In 2019, FAAC distribution was approximately ₦7.85 trillion, worth about $25.6 billion at the prevailing exchange rate. By 2025, FAAC had risen on paper to approximately ₦21.9 trillion, yet its dollar value had fallen to roughly $14.6 billion.
“So while government parades almost three times as many naira, the underlying dollar value is more than 40 per cent lower. That is not an economic miracle. That is money illusion.”
He said Nigerians could not be persuaded that the country had become richer simply because government revenues had increased in nominal naira terms.
“You cannot batter the currency, allow inflation to ravage purchasing power and then wave bigger naira figures before Nigerians as evidence that the country has become richer. Bigger numbers do not cancel smaller value,” he said.
Using the minimum wage as an example, Atiku said the purchasing power of workers had continued to decline despite the increase in nominal wages.
“Take the minimum wage as the simplest example. In 2019, ₦30,000 was worth roughly $83. By May 2023, that same ₦30,000 was worth about $65. Today, government boasts that the minimum wage has more than doubled to ₦70,000, yet at an exchange rate of around ₦1,320 to the dollar, that ₦70,000 is worth only about $53,” he said.
“That is Tinubu’s money illusion in its simplest form. The figure in your hand is bigger, but the value in your pocket is smaller.
“A worker can earn more naira today and still afford less food, less transport, less electricity, less medicine and less housing than before. Government counts the naira but conveniently refuses to count what the naira can buy.”
Atiku challenged the Federal Government to identify sectors where the alleged revenue boom had translated into tangible relief for Nigerians.
He said citizens judged the economy by their daily experiences rather than official revenue figures or government statistics.
“Nigerians do not eat FAAC figures. They do not pay school fees with percentages. They do not buy medicine with press conferences, and they do not enter buses with government charts.
“They live in the real economy, and the real economy is measured by what their money can buy,” he said.
