Atiku Challenges Tinubu's Cash Transfer Claims: "How Does Your Arithmetic Add Up?"

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has raised serious concerns over President Bola Tinubu's assertion that over N600 billion has been disbursed in cash transfers to vulnerable households. Atiku argues that the government's figures don't align with its own stated payment structure.

In a recent statement, Atiku, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, highlighted that if each qualifying household is meant to receive N25,000 monthly for three months, the total would far exceed the government's claim. With 10 million households receiving the full payment, the cost would be approximately N750 billion, while 15 million households would amount to over N1.1 trillion.

"So how many households received one payment, two payments, or all three?" he questioned. "Counting names in a database is not the same as proving money reached them."

Atiku pointed out a major inconsistency in the government's figures regarding the number of households reached. While the Presidency claimed on July 16, 2026, that 15 million households had benefited, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs later stated that only slightly more than 10 million households had been reached. "Where did those five million households go?" he asked, branding the discrepancies as evidence of a government relying on questionable arithmetic and press releases.

He criticized the administration for celebrating cash transfers while ignoring the underlying economic policies that have exacerbated poverty. "Expensive fuel raises transport costs, which in turn drives up food and medicine prices," he noted, adding that this cycle has shrunk family budgets and diminished purchasing power.

Atiku emphasized that a genuine anti-poverty policy should aim to reduce the number of people in need of assistance, rather than merely celebrating the number of vulnerable households. He proposed a targeted intervention in the domestic petroleum value chain to alleviate the root causes of poverty.

The former vice president called for transparency, urging the government to provide a detailed payment trail if it truly disbursed N600 billion. This should include information on unique verified households, payment tranches, state-by-state distribution, and any failed transactions.

Atiku criticized the government's lack of accountability, stating, "The same government that demands every kobo of Atiku’s proposed intervention cannot ask Nigerians to accept its own hundreds of billions on faith." He maintained that until the Tinubu administration reconciles its figures and produces verifiable payment records, Nigerians will continue to ask about the fate of the missing five million households.

"Did they graduate from poverty, vanish from the social register, or disappear because government propaganda outpaced the truth?" he concluded, demanding clarity and accountability from the administration.