Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has demanded that the Federal Government publish details of projects financed with existing loans before proceeding with its plan to borrow another $1.5bn from the World Bank.
Atiku, in a statement issued on Monday by the Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, said the government should disclose how borrowed funds had been spent and demonstrate the results achieved before taking on additional debt.
The statement cited Nigeria’s public debt at ₦166.79tn and said the proposed borrowing came at a time when many Nigerians were struggling with the cost of food, fuel and electricity.
“Nigerians were promised that painful policies would free resources for development. They have felt the pain. Where is the development?” Atiku asked.
He said the estimated share of the public debt per Nigerian had risen from ₦383,442 three years ago to ₦716,822, representing an 87 per cent increase.
“Tinubu has made today difficult and tomorrow more uncertain. He cannot keep loading debt onto the country and expect Nigerians to applaud programme titles. What has this government built? Who has benefited? Why should Nigerians trust him with another term in office?” he said.
Atiku acknowledged that the proposed $500m facilities for climate resilience, social protection and early childhood development addressed important needs, but said the government needed to provide details of how previous loans had been utilised.
“Worthy programme names cannot stand in for a public account of how previous loans were spent or a clear plan for delivering measurable results,” he said.
He called on the government to publish details of the projects to be financed with the proposed loans, including the communities and citizens expected to benefit, programme targets, borrowing and disbursement terms, and a timetable for monitoring implementation.
“Before these loans are concluded, the government must publish the projects to be funded, the communities and citizens expected to benefit, the targets for each programme, the terms of borrowing and disbursement, and a timetable Nigerians can use to track delivery,” he said.
Atiku said climate resilience programmes should have clearly identifiable outcomes, including land restoration, irrigation and flood protection, while social protection programmes should specify beneficiaries and timelines.
He also said early childhood development programmes should deliver measurable improvements in nutrition, healthcare and learning.
The former vice president further questioned the government’s borrowing plans in light of its claims of increased revenue and savings from the removal of the petrol subsidy.
“If more money is coming in, why does the debt keep climbing? If Nigerians have sacrificed so much, where are the results? A government cannot keep announcing savings, signing loans and asking the same struggling families to wait for relief,” he said.
Atiku said the focus should be on what Nigerians could see, use and independently verify from government spending.
“Show us the money already received. Show us what it built. Show us who benefited. Account for the debt already on Nigeria's books before borrowing another dollar,” he said.
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