By Ade Oyeyemi
The controversy over the management of Kebbi State’s finances has intensified, with the African Democratic Congress and the state government trading claims over the alleged receipt and utilisation of N627.14bn between May 2023 and October 2025.
The dispute, which has assumed a political dimension ahead of the 2027 general elections, began after the Kebbi ADC demanded detailed records showing the state’s revenues, expenditures, contracts and projects executed during the period under review.
The party said the N627.14bn figure was compiled from data attributed to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the National Bureau of Statistics, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and the World Bank.
Speaking on behalf of the ADC Kebbi State Campaign Council, its Director of Strategic Communications, Bello Abdullahi, challenged the state government and the All Progressives Congress to produce alternative figures if they disputed the amount.
“Our N627.14 billion figure is not an allegation. It is compiled from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the National Bureau of Statistics, NEITI and the World Bank, covering May 2023 to October 2025,” Abdullahi said.
He argued that the government’s listing of completed projects did not address the opposition’s demand for comprehensive financial records, including total receipts, expenditure breakdowns, audited accounts and procurement documents.
The ADC also questioned some expenditure items in the state’s budgets, including about N1bn reportedly allocated to vehicle maintenance and approximately N4.6bn for local travel and transportation.
The party demanded details of the expenditure and evidence of the projects and services for which billions of naira were appropriated, insisting that residents should be able to establish what was budgeted, approved, spent and delivered.
Govt: No missing funds, only unrealised revenue
The Kebbi State Government dismissed the allegations, accusing the ADC of confusing projected revenue contained in government budgets with funds actually received by the state.
The Special Adviser to Governor Nasir Idris on Public Enlightenment and Orientation, Ibrahim Abubakar Jombali, explained that budget estimates represented projections and did not mean that the projected funds had already entered government coffers.
“A budget is not a bank account,” Jombali said.
He added, “There is no missing money in the figures he cites. There is only unrealised revenue.”
According to the government, Kebbi received more than N172bn from the Federation Account Allocation Committee, representing 82.6 per cent of the N209.25bn projected revenue from the source.
It said internally generated revenue also fell below target, forcing the government to adjust its spending in line with available resources.
The government said total expenditure stood at nearly N240bn, with more than N152bn spent on capital projects.
It further explained that the Capital Development Fund, which had been projected at N276.27bn, realised only N47.45bn. The government said the resulting shortfall of more than N228bn should not be interpreted as missing money because the funds were never received.
It put total revenue, including the opening balance, at about N275.39bn and total expenditure at approximately N239.77bn.
The government also said actual capital expenditure stood at about N152.85bn after the capital provision was revised from N451.01bn to N442.38bn.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Publicity, Yahaya Sarki, challenged the ADC to identify specific expenditure it considered unlawful, wasteful or unaccounted for.
“If the ADC believes a particular expenditure was unlawful, wasteful or unaccounted for, then name it. Show the contract. Show the document. Show the evidence,” Sarki said.
He said the focus should extend beyond the amount of money projected or received to how available resources were appropriated and spent.
“What was budgeted? What was approved? What was spent? And what was delivered?” he asked.
However, the ADC maintained that the government’s explanation had not answered its demand for detailed financial and procurement records covering the period in question.
“A party press statement is not a financial statement. The question we asked is a government question. It requires government organs to answer,” Abdullahi said.
The opposition subsequently called on the Kebbi State House of Assembly, Accountant-General, Auditor-General and relevant public procurement authorities to make the records available.
The dispute has also drawn the APC into a counter-attack involving former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who is backing the ADC ahead of the 2027 elections.
The ruling party questioned the accountability demands being made by Malami’s political camp while properties linked to the former minister and members of his family are involved in a separate forfeiture case.
The APC argued that the accountability standard being demanded from the Kebbi government should equally apply to Malami and those supporting the opposition campaign.
