Debts: Tinubu must fully account for all loans – Atiku

African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has said the President Bola Tinubu administration must fully account for all the loans it has taken before seeking to borrow more.

Atiku, in a statement by the Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, accused the Federal Government of demanding unending sacrifice from Nigerians while the country’s debt burden continues to climb.

He noted that “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.”

According to him, “Nigerians were promised that painful policies would free resources for development. They have felt the pain. Where is the development? If Nigeria’s public debt were divided among everyone, each person’s share would be ₦716,822 today. Three years ago, it was ₦383,442. That is an 87 per cent increase.”

The ADC candidate challenged the government to reconcile its endless borrowing with its repeated claims of higher revenue and savings from petrol subsidy removal.

“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?”

“The proposed $500 million facilities for climate resilience, social protection and early childhood development address real needs,” Atiku said. “But worthy programme names cannot stand in for a public account of how previous loans were spent or a clear plan for delivering measurable results.

“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 stated.

Furthermore, the former Vice-President noted that “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.”