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• Questions rising debt despite higher revenue, subsidy savings
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to fully account for loans already obtained before contracting additional debt.
Atiku, in a statement by the Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, accused the Federal Government of repeatedly demanding sacrifices from Nigerians while the country’s debt burden continued to rise.
His intervention came days after the Debt Management Office published Nigeria’s latest public debt data, showing that total public debt stood at ₦166.79 trillion as of June 30, 2026.
“With public debt at ₦166.79 trillion, Tinubu is now seeking another $1.5 billion from the World Bank. Tinubu’s record is an indictment of his economic stewardship: families are struggling to afford food, fuel and electricity, yet the debt continues to climb,” Atiku said.
The former Vice President said Nigerians had already endured the impact of the administration’s economic reforms and deserved to know what the resulting savings and borrowings had delivered.
“Nigerians were promised that painful policies would free resources for development. They have felt the pain. Where is the development?” he asked.
Atiku also claimed that if the country’s total public debt were divided across the population, each Nigerian’s notional share would amount to about N716,822, compared with N383,442 three years ago, representing an increase of about 87 per cent.
He challenged the Federal Government to reconcile continued borrowing with repeated claims of improved revenue generation and savings from the removal of petrol subsidy.
“Tinubu has made today difficult and tomorrow more uncertain. He cannot keep loading debt onto the country and expect Nigerians to applaud programme titles. What has this government built? Who has benefited? Why should Nigerians trust him with another term in office?” he asked.
Atiku acknowledged that proposed facilities for climate resilience, social protection and early childhood development addressed important needs, but argued that programme objectives should not substitute for accountability over earlier borrowing.
“Before these loans are concluded, the government must publish the projects to be funded, the communities and citizens expected to benefit, the targets for each programme, the terms of borrowing and disbursement, and a timetable Nigerians can use to track delivery.
“Climate resilience must mean identifiable land restored, irrigation delivered and communities protected from flooding. Social protection must identify who receives support and when. Early childhood development must produce measurable gains in nutrition, healthcare and learning,” he said.
The ADC candidate further questioned why Nigeria’s debt continued to rise despite government claims of improved revenue.
“If more money is coming in, why does the debt keep climbing? If Nigerians have sacrificed so much, where are the results? A government cannot keep announcing savings, signing loans and asking the same struggling families to wait for relief.
“Show us the money already received. Show us what it built. Show us who benefited. Account for the debt already on Nigeria’s books before borrowing another dollar,” Atiku said.
