Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has strongly criticized President Bola Tinubu’s borrowing practices, warning that the loans will place an unbearable burden on Nigeria’s economy. In a statement released on Thursday, Atiku described the loans as “bone-crushing for Nigerians” and said they are causing “insufferable pressure on the economy, especially when they are not properly negotiated or utilized.”
Atiku’s statement comes after the Senate approved President Tinubu’s request for a $2.209 billion external loan, following the presentation of a report by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts. Chairman of the committee, Aliyu Wamakko, delivered the report during the plenary session on Thursday. Despite this approval, Atiku expressed deep concern over Nigeria’s increasing debt burden and the role of the National Assembly in approving these loans.
“These Tinubu’s loans are bone-crushing for Nigerians,” Atiku emphasized, adding that they are exacerbating the country’s financial woes. He criticized the government’s handling of the loans, particularly highlighting the World Bank’s recent report which ranked Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA). “This report is coming just as the government has already sent a proposal to the National Assembly signaling an intention to borrow an additional N1.7tn to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget through Euro Bonds,” Atiku noted.
Atiku’s criticism also extended to the loan’s unfavorable exchange rate. He pointed out that the loan proposal is benchmarked at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, while the current rate stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria. “What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800,” he stated, stressing that the current economic reality is far from this optimistic figure.
He accused the National Assembly of complicity in Nigeria’s growing debt crisis. “Nigeria is sinking further into debt, and the National Assembly has become an accomplice once more,” Atiku said. He questioned why the government continues to borrow, despite President Tinubu’s earlier claims of record revenue collections by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Customs. “Tinubu had, in July this year, boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the Budget. Why, then, are they still borrowing?” Atiku asked, implying that there was something the government was not revealing to Nigerians.
The former Vice President also expressed concern over what he perceives as the misuse of the loans. “It is concerning that the voracious appetite for these humongous loans is powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs,” Atiku argued, citing a report from Budgit, a budget watchdog. The report, according to Atiku, revealed that the 2024 Budget is riddled with “pork,” which he said undermines the purpose of the borrowing.
Atiku concluded by reflecting on Nigeria’s past struggles with foreign debt. “I feel a sense of personal agony seeing that just a few years after the administration of President Obasanjo took our country out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he said, calling for Nigeria to exercise more caution and apply careful calculations to its borrowing practices moving forward.
