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Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has demanded full disclosure of the Federal Government’s $5 billion financing facility with First Abu Dhabi Bank, insisting that Nigerians deserve to know how the borrowed funds will be deployed.
Atiku made the demand in a statement issued by his media office on Sunday, after Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said the government would not publish details of how funds drawn from the facility would be spent.
Oyedele had said the financing arrangement had undergone the required approval process, including consideration by the National Assembly, and should not be treated differently from other government sources of financing.
The $5 billion facility forms part of a wider $6 billion external borrowing package approved by the National Assembly in March. The Federal Government has so far accessed about $1.5 billion as the first tranche of the facility.
Atiku criticised the government’s position, accusing the administration of lacking transparency in its borrowing arrangements and warning that taxpayers and future generations would ultimately bear the cost of the loans.
“Since assuming office on May 29, 2023, President Bola Tinubu’s administration has contracted significant new debt,” the statement said.
Citing figures attributed to the Debt Management Office, Atiku said the Tinubu administration had added N72 trillion to the country’s debt stock, taking total indebtedness to N159.35 trillion as of early 2026.
He argued that the increased borrowing had not translated into improved living conditions for Nigerians, claiming that poverty had risen from 56 per cent in 2023 to between 61 per cent and 63 per cent under the present administration.
“The government is obliged to explain every loan taken on behalf of Nigerians,” Atiku said. “Every Kobo borrowed matters because citizens both living and unborn will bear the burden of repayment. Yet these loans have failed to improve their material wellbeing.”
The former vice-president also raised concerns over the collateral requirements attached to the facility, saying the Federal Government was required to pledge securities worth about 133 per cent of the loan amount.
He cited concerns previously raised by the International Monetary Fund and Fitch Ratings over transparency and sovereign debt sustainability, and urged Nigerians to demand accountability over the use of the funds.
