By Lizzy Chirkpi
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s economic management, accusing his administration of reckless borrowing after the Federal Government reportedly exceeded its 2024 borrowing limit by ₦4.79 trillion, pushing total fresh borrowing to ₦12.62 trillion.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku cited figures from the Budget Office indicating that the Federal Government borrowed ₦12.62 trillion in 2024, representing 61.2 per cent above the amount approved by the National Assembly.
He also questioned an additional ₦3.19 trillion reportedly obtained as “budget support,” despite there being no provision for it in the approved budget and no clear disclosure of its source.
According to Atiku, the latest borrowing figures reflect “a pattern of duplication, opacity and reckless fiscal management” under the Tinubu administration.
The former vice president recalled that the government had justified the removal of fuel subsidy, repeated tax increases and other economic reforms on the promise that they would reduce borrowing and restore fiscal stability.
“Instead, Nigerians are witnessing endless borrowing, ballooning debt and unprecedented waste,” he said.
Atiku questioned what the borrowed funds had achieved, arguing that the country’s education sector remained in poor condition, healthcare continued to suffer from inadequate funding, security agencies were still grappling with limited resources despite worsening insecurity, while roads, electricity and other critical infrastructure had seen little improvement.
He said it was troubling that Nigerians were being left to service debts whose benefits were not evident.
“A government earning windfalls while borrowing recklessly is not suffering from lack of revenue; it is suffering from lack of discipline,” Atiku said.
He noted that despite reports that the Federal Government earned an estimated ₦7.98 trillion in oil windfall revenue due to high global crude oil prices, it had continued to accumulate debt rather than reduce its borrowing.
Describing the situation as “fiscal vandalism” rather than genuine economic reform, Atiku warned that the administration was mortgaging the future of unborn generations through unsustainable borrowing, duplicated budgets, opaque financial practices and an ever-expanding bureaucracy.
He maintained that Nigeria needed prudent fiscal management, greater transparency and more productive investment of public resources instead of what he described as an endless cycle of borrowing.