African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday, criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over its “unprecedented home borrowing” regardless of the numerous windfall accruing from excessive worldwide crude oil costs.
Atiku described the administration’s financial administration as contradictory, opaque and bereft of fiscal self-discipline.
In an announcement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku famous that the Federal Government has already raised about N5 trillion from the home bond market within the first half of 2026, “virtually 80 per cent of the whole quantity borrowed in the course of the corresponding interval in 2025.”
Based on Atiku, such aggressive borrowing would solely be comprehensible if authorities revenues had collapsed.
“The precise reverse is the case,” he stated.
The previous Vice President identified that whereas the 2026 Appropriation Act benchmarked crude oil at $64.84 per barrel, the common value of Brent crude, the benchmark for Nigerian oil has remained round $92 per barrel between March 1 and July 14. Nigerian crude sometimes trades at a premium above Brent, making the federal government’s earnings even greater.
He stated: “This naturally raises two unavoidable questions.
“First, why is a authorities having fun with such a rare oil windfall borrowing at virtually twice final yr’s tempo as if the nation had been in monetary misery? Second, the place is the cash?”
Atiku defined that the distinction between the funds benchmark and prevailing oil costs quantities to an extra $27.15 on each barrel of crude bought.
“At a median manufacturing of 1.5 million barrels per day, Nigeria earns an estimated $42.7 million in extra income each day.
“Over the 135-day interval between March 1 and July 14, this interprets to roughly $5.76 billion, or about N7.98 trillion.
“Nigerians deserve a full accounting of this windfall. The place has the cash gone? Why is there no clear disclosure of the proceeds from extra crude gross sales? Why is authorities borrowing closely when oil revenues are considerably above funds projections?” He requested.
Atiku recalled that earlier administrations maintained clear mechanisms for warehousing and reporting extra crude earnings via the Sovereign Wealth Fund and different established fiscal buffers.
“At this time, Nigerians have been left fully at midnight. A authorities that can’t clarify what it has finished with an estimated N7.98 trillion in extra oil receipts has no ethical authority to proceed plunging the nation deeper into debt,” he acknowledged.
The previous Vice President additional lamented that regardless of the large oil windfall and the elimination of gasoline subsidy, tens of millions of Nigerians proceed to face worsening hardship.
He famous that latest United Nations findings point out that about 80 per cent of Nigerians can’t afford a good meal every day, whereas infrastructure continues to deteriorate regardless of repeated guarantees that subsidy financial savings could be invested in roads, healthcare, training, and different crucial sectors.
“It’s more and more evident that this administration lacks the competence, self-discipline, and transparency required to handle the nation’s assets.
“Relatively than permitting Nigerians to profit from beneficial world oil costs, it has chosen the trail of infinite borrowing, mounting debt, and deepening poverty.
“An ADC administration underneath my management will pursue a essentially completely different strategy. Each kobo earned above the funds oil benchmark will probably be transparently accounted for and managed underneath a rules-based fiscal framework.
“Relatively than borrowing recklessly within the midst of lots, we’ll deploy extra revenues to cut back the nation’s debt burden, strengthen our fiscal buffers, and make investments strategically in infrastructure, training, healthcare, agriculture, and different productive sectors that create jobs and stimulate sustainable financial progress.
“We’ll restore transparency within the administration of oil revenues by publishing common reviews on extra crude earnings and guaranteeing that public funds are topic to the best requirements of accountability.
“We’ll reduce the price of governance, remove waste, block leakages, and be sure that borrowing is undertaken just for productive investments able to producing measurable financial returns, to not finance consumption or conceal fiscal irresponsibility.
“Nigerians deserve solutions. They deserve accountability. Above all, they deserve a authorities that manages nationwide wealth within the public curiosity, not one which presides over unprecedented opacity whereas asking future generations to repay money owed incurred within the midst of lots,” Atiku stated.
Hafsoh Isiaq is a graduate of Linguistics. An avid author dedicated to artistic, high-quality analysis and information reportage. She has appreciable expertise in writing and reporting throughout a wide range of platforms together with print and on-line.
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