Reject Tinubu’s $500m Loan Request – Atiku Tells World Bank

Former Vice-President and embattled African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has urged the World Bank to reject the Federal Government’s proposed $500 million loan.

This was just as he accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of attempting to saddle its successor with fresh debt shortly before leaving office.

Atiku said Tinubu had no right to commit the country to additional borrowing in the final days of his tenure, warning that the proposed loan could place financial constraints on the incoming administration and future generations of Nigerians.

The former vice-president stated this in a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, director of strategic communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council.

He said: “No outgoing president has the right to burden his successor with fresh debt days before handing over power.

“Taking loans as if you were a drunken sailor is a road to economic bondage, a second slavery. If this government is determined to mortgage Nigeria’s future and place our country at the mercy of creditors, we will not accept it.

“On January 16, Nigerians will vote for a new direction: a government that puts affordable living first, not one that keeps pursuing loans whose terms and consequences have not been clearly explained to the people.

“The Tinubu administration’s latest move is a preemptive attempt to lock Nigeria into a path of economic instability, even after Nigerians have roundly rejected its poverty-inflicting reforms. A government cannot use its final days in office to bind the country and make governance more difficult for its successor.”

Atiku further questioned the timing of the proposed facility, noting that the World Bank had scheduled it for consideration on May 25, 2027, just four days before the next presidential inauguration.

He said: “President Tinubu has no business committing the country to fresh debt as he prepares to leave office.

“As the Swahili proverb warns, ‘If you borrow a man’s legs, you will go where he directs.’ A leader who borrows on his way out leaves his successor walking on the lender’s legs, constrained by obligations and choices the people did not make.

“We call on the World Bank not to approve this proposed loan on the timetable now being contemplated. Nigerians deserve full disclosure of its terms, risks and repayment obligations, and the opportunity to scrutinise a commitment that will outlast the administration pursuing it.

“I will not accept it. The Atiku administration will commence on May 29, 2027, and we will not begin our government by taking another loan. We will begin with a commitment to responsible leadership, fiscal discipline and the protection of Nigeria’s future.”

Reports emerged on Monday that the Federal Government was seeking a $500 million World Bank loan to establish an infrastructure financing platform, with the proposed approval date falling four days before the inauguration of Nigeria’s next president on May 29, 2027.

According to the World Bank’s Initial Project Information Document, the proposed facility is part of a broader $3.85 billion infrastructure financing initiative designed to attract private sector investment into critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.

The initiative, known as the Nigeria Infrastructure Financing and De-Risking Platform for Growth and Jobs (INFRAGROW), is expected to address infrastructure financing challenges by mobilising private capital and reducing investment risks.

Politics Nigeria reports that the document, prepared and updated on November 4, 2026, identifies the Federal Ministry of Finance as the borrower and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) as the implementing agency.

The World Bank has scheduled the project’s technical design review for January 21, 2027, while its estimated approval date is May 25, 2027.