N627 billion in revenue: The Malami camp and the Kebbi government clash over purported financial malfeasance
The management of Kebbi State’s finances has become a significant political issue ahead of the 2027 general elections. The African Democratic Congress, or ADC, has demanded an account of the money it claims the state received between May 2023 and October 2025.
The disagreement revolves around N627.14 billion, which the Kebbi ADC claims the state received during that time. The government is being challenged to provide comprehensive records of revenue, expenses, and projects completed.
The state government has denied the accusation of financial mismanagement, claiming that actual funds received into the state’s coffers should not be confused with predicted revenue in government budgets.
Since then, the dispute has grown into a political dispute between the Kebbi ADC, the state government, and the All Progressives Congress, or APC. The ruling party has also questioned the financial background of former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, who is supporting the ADC in advance of the 2027 election.
“Our N627.14 billion amount is not an accusation. It is compiled from May 2023 to October 2025 by the World Bank, NEITI, the National Bureau of Statistics, and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, according to Abdullahi.
He claimed that listing finished projects did not address the opposition’s request for financial records and challenged the APC and the state administration to provide counter-figures if they contested the number.
Regarding the APC’s response to the accusations, Abdullahi stated, “What he did not provide was the account itself: no total receipts, no breakdown, no audited figures, no procurement records, no documents.”
Additionally, the ADC has questioned the discrepancy between actual revenue and expenditures and budget predictions, including allocations to health, education, employment and transportation, and agriculture.
In particular, the opposition demanded information on the N4.6 billion spent on local travel and transportation and the N1 billion allegedly spent on car upkeep.
Additionally, the ADC insisted on verifiable proof for projects that received billions of naira, claiming that the public ought to be able to ascertain what was approved, budgeted, spent, and delivered.
Kebbi Government: No money is missing, just unrealised revenue
However, the state administration said that the ADC was misclassifying unrealised expected earnings as missing funds.
The opposition misinterpreted the nature of government budgets, according to Ibrahim Abubakar Jombali, Special Advisor to Governor Nasir Idris on Public Enlightenment and Orientation.
“A budget is not a bank account,” Jombali stated, clarifying that a budget reflects anticipated income and planned spending rather than money that the government already has.
“There is no missing money in the figures he cites,” he said, expressly rejecting the idea that the Capital Development Fund gap represented lost dollars. Only unrealised revenue exists.
The administration claims that Kebbi received over N172 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee, which accounts for 82.6% of its N209.25 billion forecast. Internal revenue also did not meet the objective.
According to the government, it spent around N240 billion, including more than N152 billion on major projects, after adjusting spending in response to the income shortage.
The numbers are a part of the larger dispute over Kebbi’s N580.33 billion 2025 budget, which the government has previously defended against claims of financial mismanagement.
The administration insisted that the more than N228 billion discrepancy represented unrealised revenue rather than missing monies, claiming that the Capital Development Fund was anticipated at N276.27 billion but only realised N47.45 billion.
It further stated that total expenditures were almost N239.77 billion and total revenue, including the opening balance, was roughly N275.39 billion. It stated that once the capital provision was changed from N451.01 billion to N442.38 billion, actual capital expenditure was around N152.85 billion.
Instead of depending solely on broad accusations, Yahaya Sarki, Governor Nasir Idris’s Special Advisor on Media and Publicity, asked the ADC to pinpoint particular expenses it deemed illegal, wasteful, or unaccounted for.
“Name any expense that the ADC feels was illegal, wasteful, or unaccounted for. Present the contract. Display the document. “Present the proof,” Sarki said.
“What was budgeted?” he asked, adding that the main concern was not just the quantity of money coming into the state but also how existing resources were authorised and spent. What was authorised? What was used? What was supplied, too?
The ADC has stated that its request for comprehensive financial and procurement information for the time under consideration is not addressed by the government’s justification.
“A financial statement is not the same as a party news release. We posed a government-related query. In response to the ADC’s request for pertinent data from the House of Assembly, Accountant-General, Auditor-General, and public procurement authorities, Abdullahi stated, “It requires government organs to answer.”
In the meantime, properties connected to the former minister and members of his family have been the focus of a separate forfeiture case, and the political dispute has also sparked an APC counterattack over Malami, with the party challenging the ADC’s demand for accountability from the Kebbi government.
Using the case, the APC has questioned whether Malami and his political camp should be held to the same accountability standards as the Kebbi administration.