Former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has slammed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly over the controversial approval of a fresh $6 billion external loan.
In a strongly worded statement released on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku expressed “deep concern and alarm” regarding reports that the Senate greenlit the President’s request in record time—reportedly less than four hours after it was presented on the floor of the upper chamber.
Atiku characterized the development as a “reckless betrayal of public trust,” noting that a decision of such profound national consequence—one that further burdens an already gasping economy and mortgages the future of generations yet unborn—cannot be treated with such casual urgency.
“What Nigerians have witnessed is not legislative diligence, but a disturbing erosion of oversight responsibility,” Atiku stated. “The National Assembly was never designed to function as a mere rubber stamp or a processing plant for executive whims. It is a constitutional safeguard meant to interrogate, scrutinize, and protect the interests of the Nigerian people. By clearing a $6 billion loan in four hours, the Senate has effectively abdicated its duty.”
The former Vice President argued that the Senate has reduced itself to a “conveyor belt,” processing requests of grave national consequence without due diligence or a single session of rigorous debate.
“Where was the debate? Where was the rigorous analysis by the relevant committees? Where was the accountability for previous borrowings?” Atiku queried. “Borrowing decisions that will bind the Nigerian taxpayer for decades must not be treated with this level of administrative flippancy.”
Expanding on the fiscal implications, Atiku warned that the Tinubu administration’s appetite for debt is leading Nigeria toward a terminal debt trap. He noted that while the government often justifies these loans as “routine” or for “critical infrastructure,” they actually expose deep-seated structural weaknesses in the nation’s fiscal management.
“Resorting to fresh borrowing to service existing debts, plug perennial budget gaps, and meet routine obligations is not an economic strategy—it is a dangerous cycle of insolvency,” Atiku said. “It reflects a troubling absence of fiscal discipline, a lack of clear prioritization, and a total vacuum in sustainable economic planning.”
Atiku further anchored his concerns on emerging fiscal indicators. He cited World Bank reports indicating that between January and February 2026, Nigeria’s exposure to the International Development Association (IDA) had surged to $18.7 billion, making the country one of the largest recipients of concessional loans globally.
“In March 2026 alone, the President is back to the well for an additional $6 billion, even as the Debt Management Office (DMO) continues an aggressive domestic borrowing spree through high-volume bond auctions,” Atiku noted, referencing the March 2026 FGN Bond Offer Circular. “This suggests that the government is essentially borrowing to stay afloat, largely to finance immediate obligations and service the mounting interest on existing debt.”
The former Vice President went further to question the political motives behind the sudden influx of cash, suggesting a correlation between the borrowing spree and the upcoming 2027 general elections.
“One must ask: what does a government that appears to be preparing for electoral rejection in 2027 intend to do with an additional $6 billion in borrowed funds—on top of the massive obligations it has already accumulated in just the first quarter of 2026? Nigeria is not a private enterprise to be leveraged at will. The future of our nation cannot be signed away in a matter of hours to satisfy short-term political or fiscal desperation,” he said.
Atiku emphasized that at a time when debt servicing consumes a lion’s share of national revenue, prudence—not haste—should guide the nation’s leadership. He warned that the speed of the approval suggests a “troubling sense of desperation” that undermines investor confidence and further devalues the economic future of the Nigerian youth.
He concluded by calling on the Senate to rediscover its independence and remember its role as a check on executive excesses, rather than an extension of the Presidency.
“History will record this moment—and the choices made by those who had the power to stop this fiscal slide but chose to look the other way,” Atiku said.
