Atiku says excessive borrowing beyond approved limits proves Tinubu’s administration has lost fiscal discipline and control of Nigeria’s finances
Atiku on Wednesday described the revelation that the federal government exceeded its 2024 borrowing limit by N4.79 trillion, pushing fresh borrowing to N12.62 trillion, as another proof that Tinubu administration had lost control of the country’s finances.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Nigerians were promised that the painful removal of fuel subsidy, repeated tax hikes, and other harsh economic measures would reduce borrowing and restore fiscal stability.
Instead, the country was witnessing the exact opposite: endless borrowing, ballooning debt and unprecedented waste, the statement said.
According to the Budget Office, the federal government borrowed 61.2 per cent above what was approved by the National Assembly. Worse still, an additional N3.19 trillion classified as “budget support” was obtained, despite no such provision existing in the approved budget, with no clear disclosure of its source.
According to Atiku, ‘’This is not an isolated incident. It fits into a disturbing pattern that has become the defining signature of the Tinubu administration: duplication, opacity and reckless fiscal management.
‘’This is the same government that has been caught creating fake agencies, padding budgets with duplicated allocations, hiding trillions under the mysterious Service Wide Vote, allocating obscene sums for luxury SUVs while critical sectors gasp for survival, and now borrowing far beyond the limits approved by law.
‘’What exactly is all this borrowing funding? Certainly not education, where children continue to learn under deplorable conditions. Certainly not healthcare, where hospitals remain underfunded. Certainly not security, where innocent Nigerians are massacred while security agencies complain of inadequate funding.
‘’Certainly not infrastructure, because the roads remain death traps and electricity has become an expensive luxury.
“The tragedy is that Nigerians are being forced to service debts whose benefits they cannot see.”
Atiku said, ‘’Even more troubling is the contradiction that defines this administration. Only days ago, it emerged that high crude oil prices have handed the federal government an estimated N7.98 trillion oil windfall, yet instead of reducing borrowing, the government has continued to pile debt upon debt.
‘’A government earning windfalls while borrowing recklessly is not suffering from lack of revenue; it is suffering from lack of discipline.”
The former vice president added, ‘’The Budget Office report further reveals that debt servicing alone consumed N12.36 trillion, exceeding the budget by more than 52 per cent. Nigeria is fast approaching the dangerous point where government exists primarily to borrow in order to repay previous borrowings.’’
He stated, ‘’This is not economic reform. It is fiscal vandalism. No responsible government mortgages the future of unborn generations while simultaneously presiding over duplicated budgets, wasteful expenditures, opaque financial practices and an ever-expanding bureaucracy. The question Nigerians must now ask is simple: where is all the money going?
‘’When revenues increase, borrowing also increases. When taxes increase, borrowing still increases. When subsidy is removed, borrowing accelerates. When budgets are padded and duplicated, borrowing becomes the answer once again.
“This is not governance. It is a debt addiction.’’
According to the former vice president, ‘’The ADC believes Nigeria deserves a government that lives within its means, eliminates waste, restores transparency, blocks leakages and channels public resources into productive investments rather than financing an endless cycle of borrowing.
‘’The Nigerian people cannot continue paying today’s taxes to service yesterday’s loans while tomorrow’s generations inherit only debt.’’
Presidency Diverting Attention from Nigeria’s Economic Crisis, Says Obi Media Team
The media office of the presidential candidate of NDC, Peter Obi, on Wednesday, accused the federal government and its political allies of deliberately diverting public attention from Nigeria’s worsening economic and security challenges by amplifying trifling controversies.
In a statement signed by its spokesman, Idris Zekeri Jnr, the media office said the reactions trailing Obi’s recent television interview reflected a coordinated effort by the ruling establishment to shift national discourse away from the country’s deepening socio-economic crisis.
According to the statement, rather than responding to Obi’s proposals on governance reforms, economic recovery, and national development, political opponents had resorted to “weaponising minor slips” and promoting distractions aimed at avoiding accountability.
Part of the statement read, “The Peter Obi Media Office has been compelled to react to the reactions to our principal’s recent television interview, having observed with growing concern the persistent attempts by paid political operatives, propaganda machinery and elements aligned with the ruling establishment to divert national attention away from the pressing socio-economic challenges confronting Nigeria today.”
It added that Obi had used the interview to highlight the structural defects in Nigeria’s governance architecture, the severe economic hardship facing citizens, and practical measures for national recovery.
But he lamented that attention had instead shifted to issues it regarded as inconsequential.
Zekeri stated, “After the NDC presidential candidate painstakingly outlined the structural defects in our governance, the crippling economic hardship and concrete steps toward national revival, the public has once again witnessed the predictable reflex of the ruling class: a desperate scramble to weaponise minor slips, cherry-pick narratives and elevate non-issues over critical national debate.”
The media team stated that the country’s worsening economic indicators demanded urgent policy attention rather than political distractions.
It said millions of Nigerians were grappling with rising inflation, food shortages, escalating energy costs, unemployment and widespread insecurity, insisting that these challenges should dominate public discourse.
“While millions of Nigerian families continue to suffer under the weight of hyperinflation, food insecurity, skyrocketing energy costs, widespread unemployment and unrelenting insecurity, the political elite and their mouthpieces are fixated on peddling trivialities.
“This is not an accident; it is a calculated political strategy designed to keep the public emotionally agitated and intellectually distracted from demanding real accountability.”
The media office maintained that Nigeria’s most pressing challenge was poor governance rather than political exchanges or semantic controversies.
It said the country required a serious conversation on rebuilding the economy, restoring the value of the naira, improving security, and transforming Nigeria from a consumption-driven economy into a productive one.
Zekeri stated, “Nigeria is in a crisis of governance, not a battle of soundbites. The debate that Nigeria desperately needs today is not about political drama or deliberate semantic distortions; it is about how to rescue a failing economy, restore the purchasing power of the naira, secure innocent lives and transit our nation from a consumption-driven economy to a productive powerhouse.”
The organisation also said the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement would not be drawn into distractions orchestrated by the political class.
The NDC spokesman stated, “We reject the rules of engagement set by the ruling class. The Obi-Kwankwaso Movement and the millions of patriotic Nigerians who stand with us will not be dragged into the gutter of trivial controversies created by those who have failed the nation. We refuse to allow those responsible for the country’s current plight to set the agenda for public discourse.”
The statement appealed to journalists and Nigerians, particularly young people, to remain focused on issues affecting their welfare and future rather than political theatrics.
It urged the media and the public to continually demand answers from government on measures being taken to address food inflation, insecurity, declining agricultural productivity, and rising poverty.
The Obi media stated, “Whenever the handlers of this administration attempt to turn a national conversation into a circus of irrelevancies, ask them the hard questions: Where is the plan to lower food inflation? How do we secure our farms and highways? What is being done to rescue millions falling below the poverty line?”
Reaffirming Obi’s political commitment, the media office said the former Anambra State governor would remain focused on advocating competence, transparency, accountability, and practical solutions to Nigeria’s challenges.
The media office, stated, “Peter Obi remains unwavering in his commitment to a new Nigeria built on competence, character, transparency and actionable solutions.
“No amount of coordinated distraction or smear will deter him from speaking truth to power and standing firmly with the Nigerian people.
“Let us remain focused on the issues that truly matter. A new Nigeria is possible, but only if we refuse to be distracted.”
