Atiku Accuses Tinubu Govt of Dragging Altar, Minbar into Opaque Budgeting Over N8.05bn Allocation for Religious ProjectsFormer Vice President and Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has raised alarm over the Federal Government’s alleged earmarking of about N8.05 billion in the 2026 Appropriation for church and mosque-related projects, describing it as insensitive and lacking transparency.

In a strongly worded statement issued on Monday, July 21, 2026 by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the allocation was coming at a time millions of Nigerians are grappling with crushing poverty, collapsing public services and an unprecedented debt burden.

According to Atiku, an analysis by civic accountability organisation, Tracka, showed that about N1.91 billion was allocated to church-related projects while N6.14 billion was earmarked for mosque-related projects.

While noting that faith occupies a sacred place in the nation’s life, the former Vice President insisted that it must never become a sanctuary for opaque budgeting or questionable public expenditure.

He queried the lack of full disclosure in the budget, arguing that under Nigerian law, religious bodies operate as Incorporated Trustees with distinct legal identities, and as such, Nigerians have a right to know the specific beneficiary institutions.

“Unlike roads, schools, hospitals and other public infrastructure that are ordinarily identified by location and beneficiary, these allocations reportedly fail to identify many of the specific beneficiary churches and mosques. While some line items mention broad locations, the budget does not sufficiently disclose the identities of many beneficiary worship centres, making independent verification difficult and raising legitimate concerns about transparency and accountability,” the statement read.

Atiku warned that invoking religion should not be a cover for fiscal opacity.

“Though we tread with profound meticulousness in matters that relate to the Almighty, so as not to attract spiritual jabs from the overly sensitive faithful, it is a desecration of faith to commit public funds in God’s name while withholding the information that would enable citizens to verify where their money is going. Government cannot invoke the sanctity of religion to evade the standards of openness demanded in the management of public resources,” he said.

He accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of crossing a moral red line.

“The Tinubu administration has crossed the moral red line by dragging the altar and the minbar into the marketplace of opaque budgeting. If these appropriations are genuine, the Presidency should immediately publish the names of every beneficiary institution, every project location, every implementing agency, and the legal basis for the allocations. Anything less will reinforce the growing perception that religion is being exploited as a convenient cover for diverting public resources

.”The ADC presidential candidate further cautioned the government against dragging religious leaders into what he described as a budgeting racket.

“The Tinubu administration must resist the dangerous temptation to drag our priests, pastors, imams and other religious leaders into its budgeting racket. The altar and the minbar are sacred spaces for moral instruction and spiritual guidance, not convenient hiding places for questionable appropriations. Government must not seek to stain the integrity of our religious institutions or infect men and women of faith with the leprous fingers of fiscal filth.”

“If there are genuine projects deserving public support, let them be openly identified, lawfully appropriated and transparently executed. The government must keep its leprous fingers of fiscal filth away from the altar and the minbar,” Atiku added.

He concluded with a call for full disclosure and open execution of all projects listed under religious institutions.

“God is not a laundering machine for public funds. The Tinubu administration has no moral or legal licence to hide behind the altar, the minbar, or the sacred robes of our priests and imams to mask questionable appropriations. If these projects are genuine, publish the names of every beneficiary institution, disclose every project location, and execute every project in full public view. The government must keep its leprous fingers of fiscal filth away from our sacred institutions. Faith must never become a camouflage for budgeting by concealment,” the statement concluded.