N627bn revenue: Kebbi govt, Malami camp lock horns over alleged financial mismanagement
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the management of Kebbi State’s finances has emerged as a major political issue, with the African Democratic Congress, ADC, demanding an account of funds it said...
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the management of Kebbi State’s finances has emerged as a major political issue, with the African Democratic Congress, ADC, demanding an account of funds it said accrued to the state between May 2023 and October 2025.
The dispute centres on N627.14 billion, which the Kebbi ADC says the state received during the period, and is challenging the government to account for through detailed records of revenue, expenditure and projects delivered.
The state government has rejected the allegation of financial mismanagement, arguing that projected revenue in government budgets should not be confused with money actually received into the state’s coffers.
The controversy has since widened into a political exchange involving the Kebbi ADC, the state government and the All Progressives Congress, APC, with the ruling party also questioning the financial record of former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who is backing the ADC ahead of the 2027 election.
Bello Abdullahi, Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Kebbi State Campaign Council, said the party’s N627.14 billion figure was compiled from data attributed to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the National Bureau of Statistics, NEITI and the World Bank.
“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 challenged the APC and the state government to produce counter-figures if they disputed the amount, arguing that listing completed projects did not answer the opposition’s demand for financial records.
“What he did not provide was the account itself: no total receipts, no breakdown, no audited figures, no procurement records, no documents,” Abdullahi said, referring to APC’s response to the allegations.
The ADC has also questioned the difference between budget projections and actual revenue and expenditure, including allocations to agriculture, work and transport, education and health.
The opposition specifically questioned about N1 billion reportedly spent on vehicle maintenance and approximately N4.6 billion on local travel and transportation, demanding details of the expenditure and the benefits derived from it.
The ADC also demanded verifiable evidence for projects on which billions of naira were allocated, arguing that citizens should be able to determine what was budgeted, approved, spent and delivered.
No missing money, only unrealised revenue — Kebbi Govt
The state government, however, said the ADC was wrongly treating projected revenue that was not realised as money that had gone missing.
Ibrahim Abubakar Jombali, Special Adviser to Governor Nasir Idris on Public Enlightenment and Orientation, said the opposition had misunderstood the nature of government budgets.
“A budget is not a bank account,” Jombali said, explaining that a budget represents projected revenue and planned expenditure rather than funds already available to the government.
He specifically rejected the suggestion that the shortfall in the Capital Development Fund represented missing funds, saying, “There is no missing money in the figures he cites. There is only unrealised revenue.”
According to the government, Kebbi received more than N172 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee, representing 82.6 per cent of its N209.25 billion projection, while internally generated revenue also fell short of its target.
The government said it adjusted expenditure in response to the revenue shortfall and spent nearly N240 billion, including more than N152 billion on capital projects.
The figures form part of the wider controversy surrounding Kebbi’s N580.33 billion 2025 budget, which the government previously defended against allegations of financial mismanagement.
The government said the Capital Development Fund was projected at N276.27 billion but realised only N47.45 billion, insisting that the more than N228 billion difference represented unrealised revenue rather than missing funds.
It further said total revenue, including the opening balance, stood at about N275.39 billion, while total expenditure was approximately N239.77 billion. Actual capital expenditure, it said, stood at about N152.85 billion after the capital provision was revised from N451.01 billion to N442.38 billion.
Yahaya Sarki, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Governor Nasir Idris, challenged the ADC to identify specific expenditure it considered unlawful, wasteful or unaccounted for rather than relying on general allegations.
“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 added that the central issue was not simply the amount of money that came into the state but how available resources were appropriated and spent, asking: “What was budgeted? What was approved? What was spent? And what was delivered?”
The ADC has maintained that the government’s explanation does not address its demand for detailed financial and procurement records covering the period under review.
“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, as the ADC called on the House of Assembly, Accountant-General, Auditor-General and public procurement authorities to provide relevant records.
Meanwhile, the political dispute has also triggered an APC counter-attack over Malami, with the party questioning the ADC’s demand for accountability from the Kebbi government while properties linked to the former minister and members of his family have been the subject of a separate forfeiture case.
The APC has used the case to question whether the accountability standard being demanded from the Kebbi government should also apply to Malami and his political camp.
