Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election, has described the Nigerian government’s plan to take additional loans as economic sabotage.
President Bola Tinubu had on Tuesday written the National Assembly, requesting approval to secure an external loan of $21.5 million and ¥15 billion, along with a grant of €65 million.
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He said the borrowings were part of the federal government’s proposed 2025–2026 external borrowing plan.
In a post on his X handle, Atiku, a former vice president, said the Tinubu administration’s decision to embark on fresh borrowing is a threat to the future of Nigeria and its generations yet unborn and should be halted.
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“We demand that this reckless borrowing plan be halted immediately. We call on lawmakers, civil society organizations, the media, and the international community to take urgent action to stop this looming catastrophe,” he posted on his X handle on Thursday.
Atiku said borrowing is ill-advised, considering that Nigeria’s debt burden is “already at alarming levels.”
“As of 31 December, 2024, public debt stood at $94 billion (₦144.7 trillion). Since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in 2023, public debt has jumped by 65.6 per cent.
“Under the APC-led administration since 2015, public debt has ballooned by 1,048 per cent, from ₦12.6 trillion to ₦144.7 trillion. The debt-to-GDP ratio has exceeded 50 per cent. The debt-service-to-revenue ratio is over 130 per cent, meaning the government now spends more on repaying loans than it earns,” he said.
READ ALSO: Tinubu requests NASS’ approval to borrow $21.5 million, ¥15 billion, €65 million
Atiku said the Tinubu administration borrows money not for development but to service existing loans, fuelling a debt spiral that leaves nothing for infrastructure, education, healthcare, or jobs.
“This addiction to borrowing, entrenched under the APC-led administration and now accelerated by President Tinubu, has turned public finance into a Ponzi scheme — borrowing to pay debt, then borrowing again to pay interest. Nigeria is now caught in a vicious cycle that mortgages the future to pay for the past,” he said.
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