By 247ureports.com
Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has demanded that President Bola Tinubu publicly account for Nigeria’s existing borrowing before his administration proceeds with a fresh $1.5 billion loan from the World Bank, as the country’s public debt stands at a record N166.79 trillion.
The Demand
In a statement issued Monday by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku accused the Tinubu administration of asking Nigerians for endless sacrifice while reaching for new loans. He said families are struggling to afford food, fuel and electricity while the debt continues to climb, and asked what development has come from the pain of the reforms Nigerians were promised would free up resources.
Atiku also challenged the government to reconcile its appetite for borrowing with its repeated claims of higher revenue and savings from the removal of the petrol subsidy.
The Numbers
According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria’s total public debt stood at N166.79 trillion at the end of June 2026, up N14.39 trillion, or 9.44 per cent, from N152.40 trillion a year earlier. Atiku said that if the debt were divided among every Nigerian, each person’s share would be N716,822 today, compared with N383,442 three years ago, an increase of 87 per cent. That per-capita figure is Atiku’s own calculation. Reports also indicate that Nigeria’s outstanding debt to the World Bank reached $20.73 billion by June 2026, making it the third-largest borrower from the bank’s concessional IDA window globally.
The Proposed Loans
World Bank documents show the federal government is in discussions on three separate financing facilities of $500 million each, covering climate resilience, social protection and early childhood development. The nearest milestone is an additional $500 million for the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes project (ACReSAL), which the World Bank board is scheduled to consider on October 29, 2026.
Atiku acknowledged that the three programme areas address real needs. But he argued that programme names cannot replace a public account of how previous loans were spent, or a clear plan for delivering measurable results.
Political Context
The statement comes as Atiku, who leads the ADC ticket, campaigns against Tinubu’s re-election. He asked why Nigerians should trust the president with another term, saying Tinubu had made today difficult and tomorrow more uncertain. Calls for greater transparency over World Bank-funded spending are not new: civil society groups, including SERAP, have previously asked the federal government to track and publish how such loans were used.
Government Response
As of this report, 247ureports.com had not located a response from the presidency or the Federal Ministry of Finance to Atiku’s statement.
