Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has said a recent report by the United States Department of State has vindicated his longstanding criticism of the Bola Tinubu administration over alleged lack of fiscal transparency and accountability.

Atiku, in a statement issued by his Media Office on Thursday, said the report corroborated his concerns about the government’s failure to provide Nigerians with complete and timely information on public revenues and expenditures.

The US report, according to Atiku, raised concerns about Nigeria’s fiscal transparency, particularly the accessibility and completeness of key budget documents.

It noted that while the Nigerian government made its enacted budget and end-of-year report widely accessible, including online, it failed to publish its executive budget proposal within a reasonable period.

The report further stated that Nigeria’s budget documents “did not provide a substantially complete picture of the government’s revenues and expenditures,” while also failing to adequately break down expenditures supporting executive offices.

Atiku said the findings also reinforced his concerns over discrepancies between Nigeria’s approved budget and the actual revenues and expenditures recorded during implementation.

Quoting the report, he said, “Actual revenues and expenditures did not reasonably correspond to those in the enacted budget.”

The former Vice President also drew attention to the report’s criticism of Nigeria’s Office of the Auditor-General, which it said did not meet international standards of independence and failed to publish substantive reports.

According to Atiku, the US assessment confirms his repeated argument that Nigerians are not being provided with sufficient information about how public resources are generated, managed and spent.

“This report confirms what we have been saying that Nigerians deserve to know where every kobo is coming from and where it is being spent. They are our resources and not the resources of President Bola Tinubu and his family and friends,” Atiku said.

He argued that fiscal transparency was critical to attracting investment, tackling corruption and rebuilding public confidence in government institutions.

Atiku also stressed that transparency in public finances was a key consideration for investors, donor agencies and international credit rating institutions, particularly as Nigeria continues to depend on foreign investment and multilateral support to finance infrastructure and social programmes.

He said the government must publish detailed and timely information on revenues generated from oil, taxation and borrowing, as well as provide clear records of how such funds are deployed.

The ADC presidential candidate maintained that greater disclosure was necessary to restore confidence in the Nigerian economy amid concerns over rising debt and inflation.

“Transparency is not a slogan. It is the foundation of good governance,” Atiku had previously stated in one of his interventions on fiscal accountability.

The former Vice President has consistently criticised the Tinubu administration over its handling of public finances, insisting that Nigerians have a right to know how government resources are generated and expended.

He said the latest US report should prompt the government to strengthen its fiscal disclosure mechanisms and provide Nigerians with credible audit trails and comprehensive budget information.