ADC to Tinubu: Explain $12.4bn gap in Nigeria’s external accounts

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to explain the $12.4 billion (about ₦16.5 trillion) gap in Nigeria’s external accounts identified in the World Bank’s October 2026 Nigeria Development Update.

Reacting on Saturday through its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the discrepancy required clarification, particularly at a time when Nigerians were facing cost-of-living pressures.

According to the report, Nigeria recorded a $12 billion current account surplus and $6.2 billion in net financial inflows in the first half of 2026, which should have strengthened the country’s reserves. However, a $12.4 billion gap was identified.

The World Bank said the gap reflected, in part, oil export earnings that were not repatriated. It also noted that the return of export proceeds remained limited, partly because Nigerian oil had been pledged against several long-term loans.

“The scale is staggering,” the ADC said. “This unexplained gap is larger than the entire current account surplus for the same period. It is about 5.6 times the $2.2 billion Nigeria attracted in foreign direct investment. In naira terms, it is almost a quarter of the ₦68.32 trillion 2026 federal budget.”

The party said the gap could not be dismissed as a minor accounting discrepancy and called for transparency on the issue.

The ADC asked the Federal Government to publish a full public reconciliation of the $12.4 billion gap, disclose oil-backed loans and pledged crude commitments, provide updated net reserve figures and show how higher revenues were affecting essential services such as health, education and power.

“President Tinubu must open the books. Nigerians have sacrificed enough. We deserve answers.”