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• Says debt has risen to N40.38trn under Tinubu, not fallen
• Dismisses claims subsidy savings fund wages, NELFUND
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Former Vice President and 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has accused the Federal Government of misleading Nigerians over the utilisation of savings from the removal of fuel subsidy, insisting that claims the funds are being used to reduce inherited debts and improve workers’ welfare are contradicted by official records.
Atiku, in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, yesterday described recent remarks by the Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, as “fundamentally misleading” and accused the Tinubu administration of engaging in “revisionism” to justify its economic policies.
The former vice president argued that rather than reducing government indebtedness, the Federal Government’s liabilities to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had increased sharply since President Bola Tinubu assumed office.
Citing figures he attributed to the CBN, Atiku said the Federal Government’s exposure rose from about N26.9 trillion in May 2023 to over N40.38 trillion, insisting that the administration merely restructured existing debts by converting Ways and Means advances into Treasury Bills and bonds while accumulating fresh obligations.
“This administration has not reduced its indebtedness to the CBN. It has merely changed the label on the debt. That is debt restructuring, not debt repayment,” he said.
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Atiku also challenged the government’s claim that fuel subsidy savings were being used to improve workers’ welfare, arguing that the new national minimum wage had yet to be fully implemented.
He noted that the 40 per cent peculiar allowance linked to the wage adjustment remained unpaid despite directives that it should take effect from May 1, 2026, while the promised wage award had also not been fully implemented.
The former vice president further dismissed claims that subsidy savings were financing the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), recalling that the agency’s management had publicly stated that it received a N50 billion injection from funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Questioning the government’s narrative, Atiku said: “Nigerians deserve honesty, not creative accounting.”
He also faulted the administration’s explanation that rising debt servicing costs were driven mainly by higher interest rates, arguing that government borrowing had crowded out private investment and imposed severe costs on businesses.
According to him, soaring inflation, rising food prices, unemployment, the depreciation of the naira and worsening poverty reflected what he described as the failure of the administration’s economic policies.
“The realities Nigerians confront daily are far removed from the glossy presentations of government officials,” Atiku said.
