Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s fresh loan request, warning that the country cannot afford more debt amid growing economic hardship.
Atiku stated that the government plan to pursue fresh external and domestic loans is a “reckless and dangerous move that threatens the future of Nigeria and generations yet unborn”.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate condemned the administration’s decision to seek loans totaling over $24 billion, a figure he noted represents more than 60 percent of the country’s total foreign exchange reserves.
“This borrowing spree will raise our total public debt from ₦144.7 trillion to a crushing ₦183 trillion,” Atiku stated, warning that Nigeria is already grappling with an alarming debt burden that has only worsened since the All Progressives Congress (APC) assumed office in 2015.
According to him, Nigeria’s public debt stood at $94 billion as of December 31, 2024, an alarming figure he said reflects the country’s worsening fiscal condition under the current administration.
He noted that since President Tinubu assumed office in 2023, the nation’s debt stock has risen by 65.6 percent. Cumulatively, under APC leadership, the debt has increased by 1,048 percent, from ₦12.6 trillion in 2015 to its current level.
“The debt-to-GDP ratio has now exceeded 50 percent, and more worryingly, the debt-service-to-revenue ratio is over 130 percent,” Atiku said, adding that the government is now spending more on repaying loans than it is earning.
The former vice president described the situation as “not just unsustainable, but immoral,” accusing the Tinubu administration of borrowing not for productive development, but merely to service existing debts.
“This addiction to borrowing, entrenched under the APC-led administration and now accelerated by President Tinubu, has turned public finance into a Ponzi scheme — borrowing to pay debt, then borrowing again to pay interest,” he lamented.
Atiku warned that Nigeria is now caught in a vicious debt cycle that undermines critical investments in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and job creation.
Calling the new loan proposal “economic sabotage in plain sight,” he urged the National Assembly, civil society organisations, the media, and the international community to rise and resist the plan.
“We demand that this reckless borrowing plan be halted immediately. Nigeria must not be sold into debt slavery,” the former Vice President declared.
