Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has attacked President Bola Tinubu over the National Economic Council’s approval of a $4.5 billion refinancing deal linked to an oil-backed loan involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
Atiku spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday.
He linked the new deal to the Presidency’s earlier explanation that Nigeria could not fully benefit from higher crude oil prices because future oil earnings had already been committed to foreign loans.
Atiku said the latest approval showed that the government was continuing with the same borrowing approach.
“That explanation should have embarrassed any responsible government. Instead, this administration has chosen to double down on the very scandal it sought to justify by approving yet another $4.5 billion refinancing,” he said.
He also questioned the decision to refinance the loan while the Tinubu administration pursues measures to increase government revenue.
“Every new oil-backed obligation pushes Nigeria deeper into a cycle where tomorrow’s wealth is sacrificed to finance today’s policy failures,” Atiku said.
The former vice president then turned to the hardship Nigerians have faced under the administration.
“President Tinubu promised renewed hope. What Nigerians have received is renewed debt, renewed hardship and renewed uncertainty,” he said.
Atiku called on the Federal Government to release the refinancing terms, repayment obligations and the amount of crude oil committed to the deal.
He also criticised the government’s wider borrowing strategy, saying Nigeria should protect its oil resources rather than commit future earnings to debt repayment.
“Debt has become policy, borrowing has become governance, and mortgaging the future has become the defining philosophy of his administration,” Atiku said.
