The African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Monday, charged President Bola Tinubu to account for N166.79 trillion debt before borrowing $1.5 billion from the World Bank.
Atiku accused Tinubu of running a government that demands
endless sacrifices from Nigerians while reaching endlessly for fresh loans.
In a statement issued by the Director of Strategic
Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku
said: “With public debt at N166.79 trillion, Tinubu is now seeking another $1.5
billion from the World Bank. The President must first account for the money
already borrowed.”
Atiku said Tinubu’s record is an indictment of his economic
stewardship, stressing that families are struggling to afford food, fuel and
electricity, yet debt continues to climb.
He said: “Nigerians were promised that painful policies
would free resources for development. They have felt the pain. Where is the
development?
“If Nigeria’s public debt were divided among everyone, each
person’s share would be N716,822 today. Three years ago, it was N383,442. That
is 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?”
Atiku said the proposed $500 million facilities for climate
resilience, social protection and early childhood development should address
real needs.
He added: “But worthy programme names cannot stand in for a
public account of how previous loans were spent or a clear plan for delivering
measurable results.
“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.
“Climate resilience must mean identifiable land restored,
irrigation delivered and communities protected from flooding. Social protection
must identify who receives support and when. Early childhood development must
produce measurable gains in nutrition, healthcare and learning.”
Atiku also challenged the government to reconcile its
appetite for borrowing with its repeated claims of higher revenue and savings
from petrol subsidy removal.
“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,” the ex-Vice President said.
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