Atiku Questions Value of Rising FAAC Allocations
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has questioned the economic value of rising Federation Account Allocation Committee allocations, arguing that higher naira figures have not translated into greater purchasing power for Nigerians.
Atiku made the argument in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, where he said the depreciation of the naira and rising inflation had reduced the real value of government revenues.
According to him, FAAC distributions increased from about N7.85tn in 2019, valued at roughly $25.6bn at the prevailing exchange rate, to about N21.9tn in 2025, which he put at approximately $14.6bn.
He said this meant that while allocations had nearly tripled in naira terms, their dollar value had fallen by more than 40 per cent.
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Atiku argued that the increase in nominal figures should not be presented as evidence of economic growth when Nigerians were facing reduced purchasing power.
“Bigger numbers do not cancel smaller value,” he said.
He also used workers’ minimum wage to illustrate the effect of the naira’s depreciation. Atiku said the N30,000 minimum wage in 2019 was worth about $83 at the time, while the same amount was worth about $65 by May 2023.
He said the current N70,000 minimum wage was worth about $53 at an exchange rate of N1,320 to the dollar.
According to Atiku, the higher nominal wage has not necessarily increased what workers can afford, as Nigerians continue to face rising costs of food, transportation, electricity, medicine and housing.
He said the performance of the economy should therefore be judged by what government revenues can buy and the obligations they can meet, rather than by the size of FAAC allocations alone.
“If FAAC is truly booming, then where is the boom? Where is it in the price of food? Where is it in transport, electricity, healthcare, housing and jobs?” Atiku asked.
The former vice president also questioned the debt levels of state governments despite increased FAAC allocations.
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He cited a September 2026 report based on Debt Management Office data, which showed that 12 states with governors approaching the end of their tenures had a combined debt burden of about N5.3tn.
The figure, according to Atiku, consisted of N2.16tn in domestic debt and about $2.33bn in foreign debt.
He said the situation raised questions about how increased government revenue was being used, particularly as states continued to face pension, gratuity, contractor and other financial obligations.
Atiku called for greater scrutiny of government spending, including tax concessions, import waivers, revenue exemptions, duplicated projects and abandoned projects.
He argued that fiscal discipline should apply to government spending as well as to ordinary Nigerians.
The former vice president said citizens experience the economy through the prices of food, transport, school fees, medicine and other necessities rather than government revenue statistics.
He urged the government to measure increased revenue by the debts settled, infrastructure delivered and improvements in living conditions.
Atiku said the key question was whether Nigerians were better off despite the increase in nominal government revenues.
“More naira is not automatically more prosperity. Bigger figures do not mean bigger value,” he said.
