Atiku asks Senate to reject Tinubu’s fresh N10.79trn loan request

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged the Senate to reject President Bola Tinubu’s request for approval to borrow $7.7 billion (about N10.79 trillion), warning that the proposed loan would further deepen Nigeria’s debt burden.

Mr Atiku, in a statement issued on Wednesday by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Presidential Campaign Council, described the frequency of the administration’s borrowing requests as alarming.

He said the latest request came barely days after the Federal Government presented another external borrowing proposal of $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion to the National Assembly.

“What is the problem with this government? Why is President Tinubu making borrowing requests on behalf of Nigeria week in, week out?” he asked.

The former vice president argued that Nigerians should not be expected to regard the successive borrowing proposals as routine government business, insisting that every new foreign loan would ultimately impose additional financial obligations on citizens.

He accused the Tinubu administration of relying on borrowing to address budget deficits rather than pursuing sound economic management, saying households and businesses were already bearing the consequences of the government’s economic policies.

Mr Atiku also questioned the absence of sufficient details about the proposed loan, particularly the projects to be financed, their individual costs, repayment schedules and applicable interest rates.

He expressed concern that President Tinubu’s letter to the Senate indicated that the final borrowing terms would depend on prevailing market conditions when the loan was priced.

According to him, Nigerians should not be asked to accept additional debt without knowing the actual financial implications.

“The Senate must scrutinise this proposal line by line. It must demand a full project list, clear funding allocations, the proposed loan terms and a credible repayment plan before considering approval,” he said.

“No government should receive a blank cheque to contract foreign debt in the name of budget implementation.”

The ADC presidential campaign council also warned that the administration should not commit future governments to additional debt obligations without adequate disclosure and legislative scrutiny.

It called on international financial institutions and lenders to suspend further lending to the Tinubu administration until it provides transparent loan terms, a credible repayment framework and evidence of the benefits Nigerians have derived from previous borrowings.

Mr Atiku further criticised the administration’s economic record, arguing that despite the removal of petroleum subsidy, the government had continued to accumulate substantial debts while Nigerians grappled with rising living costs.

He described the current economic situation as one of the worst cost-of-living crises in the country’s history, alleging that many households could no longer afford decent living conditions while businesses were struggling to survive.

The former vice president also questioned the government’s infrastructure spending and social welfare interventions, asking what specific projects the accumulated loans were financing.

“Tinubu removed subsidy on petroleum products but has emerged as the highest borrowing government in Nigeria’s record history.

“Nigerians are hungry and angry. Public infrastructure are limited; social welfare intervention is none existent. Yet Nigeria is owing massively under Tinubu,” he said.

Mr Atiku, however, said he had an alternative economic plan, which he claimed would reverse the country’s growing poverty and debt challenges.

He proposed the introduction of what he described as a production-based subsidy on petroleum products as part of efforts to restore social welfare and ease the economic burden on Nigerians.