By Ben Efe 15.7.2026
The dust raised by the controversial N1.3b budgetary allocation to a ghost government agency has hardly died down and now former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has blown open another scam.
Concerned Nigerians are now asking who pocketed a N6.44 billion allocated to a group to chase a World Cup 2026 ticket after the team failed to qualify in November 2025.
Speaking in a statement Wednesday Atiku who is the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate for the 2027 election, stated that the N6.44 billion was an allocation made for a ‘Special Presidential Support Group for the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers,” in the 2026 national budget one month after the team crashed out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup party.
“How does a serious government budget ₦6.44 billion for presidential support for World Cup qualifiers after the country had already been eliminated?
“What competition was the money intended to support? Who inserted the provision, who approved it and who was expected to benefit from an expenditure whose stated purpose had already ceased to exist?” Atiku queried.
Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup that was expanded to 48 nations. The Super Eagles were the top-rated team in their group qualifiers, but because of the lackadaisical attitude of the players encouraged by an insincere and incompetent Nigeria Football Federation, the nation missed a back-to-back World Cup appearance.
