Just In: Atiku Raises Alarm Over $4.5bn NNPC Oil-Backed Loan Deal, "Nigerians Got Renewed Debt"
- Atiku Abubakar described NEC's approval of the $4.5bn NNPC refinancing as proof that the Tinubu administration is mortgaging Nigeria's future
- The former vice president linked the new deal to a recent Presidency response over an unexplained ₦17 trillion crude oil windfall
- Atiku demanded the Tinubu administration publish the full terms of the refinancing, including repayment obligations and crude oil volumes committed
PAY ATTENTION: Find it fast with our new search feature at Legit.ng!
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the National Economic Council's (NEC) approval of a $4.5 billion refinancing of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited's oil-backed loan, saying it proves the Tinubu administration is sacrificing Nigeria's future to cover its fiscal failures.
The condemnation came in a statement released on Tuesday, August 5, by Phrank Shaibu, Atiku's Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication.
Source: Twitter
Atiku links deal to ₦17 trillion crude oil controversy
Atiku noted that the Presidency had, only days earlier, responded to his disclosure of an unexplained ₦17 trillion crude oil windfall by admitting that Nigeria could not fully benefit from high international oil prices because future crude earnings had already been pledged against existing oil-backed loans. He said that response alone should have shamed any responsible government.
Read also
Atiku Calls Tinubu's 2026 Budget Fraud Over ₦1.08 Trillion Allocated to Cooperative College
"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. Rather than breaking free from the chains of oil-backed indebtedness, it is tightening them," he said.
The former vice president questioned how an administration that removed the fuel subsidy, introduced multiple taxes and recorded record crude oil revenues still found it necessary to refinance billions of dollars backed by future oil production.
"This administration has turned Nigeria into a nation permanently living on credit. Instead of using increased revenues to reduce debt and build fiscal resilience, it continues to mortgage the future of generations yet unborn," he said.
Atiku demands full transparency on refinancing terms
Atiku said the deeper tragedy is that Nigerians have endured severe hardship in the name of economic reforms, yet borrowing has not slowed.
He argued that when reforms amount to consuming tomorrow's resources to fund today's spending, the result is reckless fiscal behaviour with no moral limits.
"President Tinubu promised renewed hope. What Nigerians have received is renewed debt, renewed hardship and renewed uncertainty. Under his watch, debt has become policy, borrowing has become governance, and mortgaging the future has become the defining philosophy of his administration," Atiku said.
He called on the Tinubu administration to immediately disclose the full details of the refinancing deal, covering its terms, repayment schedule and the volume of crude oil committed under the arrangement, saying Nigerians deserve a government that protects national assets rather than continually pledging them away.
Atiku is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and served as Nigeria's Vice President from 1999 to 2007.
Atiku slams Tinubu over ₦4.79 trillion borrowing overrun
Earlier, Legit.ng also reported that Atiku criticised the federal government after the Budget Office revealed it borrowed ₦4.79 trillion above its approved 2024 limit. The government also obtained an extra ₦3.19 trillion classified as 'budget support' with no provision for it in the approved budget.
Atiku's camp pointed to a reported ₦7.98 trillion oil windfall, questioning why borrowing continued to rise despite higher revenues.
Source: Legit.ng
