Atiku slams Tinubu over planned World Bank loan, describes debt culture as ‘economic vandalism’

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has launched a fresh attack on the administration of President Bola Tinubu over reports that the Federal Government is seeking another $1.25 billion facility from the World Bank, warning that the country’s rising debt profile is becoming unsustainable.

Atiku, in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja through his media aide, Olusola Sanni, accused the Tinubu administration of plunging Nigeria deeper into debt without visible improvements in the living conditions of citizens.

The former presidential candidate described the government’s growing dependence on foreign loans as irresponsible and lacking transparency.

“This borrowing binge is becoming reckless, opaque and dangerously habitual. The loans are coming with a burden of weight too heavy for Nigerians to bear,” Atiku said.

He argued that despite repeated assurances by the Federal Government that the loans were meant to support infrastructure, power supply and economic recovery, ordinary Nigerians were yet to feel the impact.

“Nigerians were told these loans were for infrastructure, power, and economic recovery. Yet the average citizen still lives in darkness, roads remain death traps, businesses are collapsing under crushing energy costs, and hunger has become a national epidemic,” he stated.

Atiku also questioned the consistency of the administration’s economic narrative, noting that the increasing resort to concessional borrowing contradicted official claims of improved revenue generation.

Referring specifically to loans from the International Development Association arm of the World Bank, he said Nigeria’s current debt exposure placed it among countries classified as economically vulnerable.

“The IDA loans are facilities granted to extremely poor countries and currently shares the same spot with Bangladesh and Pakistan as top countries in the world with highest loan exposure to the World Bank. This data is diametrically opposed to claims by the Tinubu administration that the government had increased its revenue generation drive,” he said.

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The former Vice President further compared the current debt accumulation to the debt relief secured during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, insisting that the gains achieved at the time were now being eroded.

“It is deeply ironic that the same nation which painstakingly exited the Paris Club debt trap through the fiscal discipline, diplomatic credibility, and reform-driven leadership of the Obasanjo-Atiku administration in 2005–2006 is now being dragged back into a fresh era of debt dependency,” he said.

“That historic debt relief was not accidental. It was earned through tough negotiations, prudent management, and international goodwill. Today, that legacy is being squandered with alarming irresponsibility,” Atiku added.

He criticised what he described as the government’s belief that heavy borrowing equates to economic management and development.

“This administration appears to believe that borrowing is governance. It is not. Loans are not achievements. Debt is not development. And mortgaging the future of unborn Nigerians to fund present incompetence is not economic management — it is economic vandalism,” Atiku declared.

The former Vice President also directed criticism at international financial institutions, urging lenders to demand greater accountability and transparency before extending additional credit facilities to Nigeria.

“No responsible lender should ignore the warning signs. A government that keeps borrowing while citizens see no tangible improvement in electricity supply, healthcare, education, or infrastructure raises legitimate concerns about fiscal credibility and governance discipline,” he said.

“At some point, creditors must ask themselves whether they are funding development or enabling dysfunction,” he added.

Atiku further called on the Federal Government to publish comprehensive details of all loans obtained since President Tinubu assumed office in May 2023.

According to him, Nigerians deserve to know the terms attached to the loans, how much has been disbursed and the specific projects tied to each borrowing arrangement.

The latest criticism adds to growing political debates over Nigeria’s rising debt profile and the Federal Government’s continued reliance on external borrowing to finance infrastructure and economic reforms amid worsening inflation and economic hardship across the country.

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