Tinubu Deducts N100bn Monthly From Federation Account Without Approval El-Rufai Alleges Says Action Deserves Impeachment

Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has launched a blistering attack on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accusing the president of unilaterally deducting huge sums from Nigeria’s Federation Account without constitutional approval and urging the National Assembly to begin impeachment proceedings. The stark allegation has reignited long-running debates about transparency, executive overreach and fiscal accountability under the Tinubu administration, with critics insisting the claims demand urgent investigation rather than dismissal.

El-Rufai made the allegations during a televised interview on Arise Television, saying that President Tinubu has been authorising monthly withdrawals of N100 billion from the Federation Account for more than 15 months without legislative backing. According to El-Rufai, this amounts to a staggering N1.5 trillion taken from the public purse outside any approved budget or statutory framework. The Federation Account, he stressed, is the collective resource of the federal government, states and local governments, and its resources may not be accessed without an explicit constitutional provision.

Every month, President Bola Tinubu deducts N100 billion from the Federation Account, El-Rufai said. This is unconstitutional, and it is an impeachable offence.

He insisted there is no clause in the Constitution or any act passed by the National Assembly that grants the President the authority to make such unilateral decisions regarding federation funds, which are meant to be allocated through the statutory Federal Accounts Allocation Committee process.

El-Rufai framed his accusations in stark terms, saying the scale and duration of the deductions reveal a pattern of fiscal mismanagement that undermines the integrity of Nigeria’s public finances and the checks and balances meant to uphold constitutional order. He described the alleged actions as a “grave violation” of the Constitution, arguing that such conduct erodes trust in state institutions and emboldens executives to treat national resources as personal prerogatives rather than public trust.

The former governor did not stop at outlining the alleged infraction. He directly challenged the National Assembly to act, arguing that lawmakers have a constitutional duty not only to investigate the matter but, if the claims are substantiated, to proceed with impeachment. El-Rufai insisted that legislative silence in the face of such serious allegations would amount to tacit approval and undermine the legislature’s role as a check on executive power.

WATCH VIDEO CLIP:

El-Rufai drops a bombshell: Tinubu deducts ₦100bn every month from the Federation Account without approval. Fifteen months later, ₦1.5 trillion is gone. He says it’s nothing short of impeachable.
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— iDAN 🦸🏽 (@dangbanamanager) January 25, 2026

The accusation arrives at a time when public trust in government fiscal management is already fragile. Nigerians are contending with rising insecurity, inflation and economic hardship, and questions about how public funds are managed and disbursed have become central to political discourse. El-Rufai tied the alleged unauthorised deductions to the lack of visible improvements in security, noting that vast sums purportedly siphoned from the Federation Account should have translated into tangible results on the ground.

While federal authorities have not issued a detailed defence against El-Rufai’s specific numbers, the Presidency has generally defended its fiscal policies in broader terms, citing efforts to boost revenue, manage debt and stabilise the economy. However, the lack of a direct response to the precise allegation of unauthorised deductions has left opponents saying the administration appears to be standing by in silence rather than rebutting or clarifying the claims.

Legal experts have noted that if the allegations are factual, they would indeed raise serious constitutional red flags. The 1999 Constitution and the framework for federation revenue clearly define how funds should be shared and allocated, with the National Assembly tasked with oversight. Any consistent pattern of unauthorised withdrawals from the Federation Account, they argue, would not only violate the Constitution but also undermine the federal structure by depriving states and local governments of their rightful shares.

The call for impeachment is a rare escalation in Nigeria’s political landscape, particularly given that El-Rufai was once part of Tinubu’s political circle. His public break and forceful indictment reflect deeper fissures within the ruling elite and signal growing impatience among some political figures with the pace and direction of national governance.

El-Rufai’s statements have stirred intense debate across political and civic circles, with some observers calling for a forensic audit of the Federation Account. In contrast, others dismiss the claims as politically motivated attacks ahead of the 2027 general elections. Regardless, the controversy has thrust questions about executive accountability and constitutional limits on resource control back into the national spotlight.

For many Nigerians, the central question now is not merely whether money was deducted without approval but why such a considerable sum could be moved without transparent explanation, legislative oversight or public accountability. As the political temperature rises, the coming weeks may decide whether these allegations remain in the realm of rhetoric or become the basis for formal oversight action by the National Assembly.

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