Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has told President Bola Tinubu to be transparent in the deployment of the $5 billion Abu Dhabi loan as Nigerians and future generations of the country would bear its burden.
On Wednesday, Taiwo Oyedele, Nigeria’s finance minister,
said the federal government would not publish details of how funds drawn from
its $5 billion financing facility with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) would be
spent.
Oyedele was responding to questions on the government’s
borrowing plan and the controversial financing arrangement with FAB during a
media briefing in Abuja.
Asked whether the government would make details of the
transaction and the deployment of the funds public, the minister said there was
no need to treat the facility differently from other sources of government
financing.
Oyedele said the transaction had already gone through the
required approval process, including consideration by the national assembly.
The $5 billion facility is part of a wider $6 billion
external borrowing package approved by the national assembly in March.
The government subsequently accessed about $1.5 billion as
the first tranche of the FAB facility.
In a statement on Sunday by his media office, Atiku accused
the administration of incompetence and financial impropriety, citing a lack of
transparency in recent loan agreements.
He specifically criticised the government’s handling of the
$5 billion facility from First Abu Dhabi Bank, insisting that taxpayers deserve
full disclosure of how such funds will be utilised.
“Since assuming office on May 29, 2023, President Bola
Tinubu’s administration has contracted significant new debt,” the statement
reads.
“According to the Debt Management Office, the Tinubu
administration has added N72 Trillion of fresh debt stock, bringing the total
indebtedness to N159.35 trillion as at early 2026.”
Despite the borrowings, Atiku argued that Nigerians have
remained poorer and less secure.
According to him, poverty levels have risen from 56 percent
in 2023 to between 61 percent and 63 percent under the Tinubu administration,
leaving over 140 million citizens trapped in multidimensional poverty.
Atiku criticised Oyedele for dismissing public calls to
explain the Abu Dhabi loan.
“The government is obliged to explain every loan taken on
behalf of Nigerians,” Atiku said.
“Every Kobo borrowed matters because citizens — both living
and unborn — will bear the burden of repayment. Yet these loans have failed to
improve their material wellbeing.”
He further noted that the federal government is required to
pledge securities worth about 133 percent of the loan amount as collateral,
making transparency even more critical.
Atiku reminded Nigerians that both the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and Fitch Ratings have raised concerns about the financing
structure, citing risks to transparency and sovereign debt sustainability.
The former vice president urged Nigerians to hold the
government accountable, stressing that borrowing without clear results
undermines trust and jeopardises the nation’s economic future.
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