Atiku faults Tinubu’s $516m loan request for Sokoto–Badagry highway

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has voiced strong opposition to President Bola Tinubu's administration's move to secure an additional $516 million external loan for the Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway project. Abubakar, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, expressed concerns about Nigeria's escalating debt profile and the government's approach to financing major infrastructure.

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At a time when Nigeria is already groaning under the weight of unsustainable debt, the resort to yet another foreign loan—without transparent terms, clear cost-benefit analysis, and a credible repayment framework—raises profound questions about prudence and accountability.

While acknowledging the strategic importance of connecting the North-West and South-West regions through the proposed highway, Abubakar cautioned against what he described as a recurring pattern of borrowing without sufficient transparency and robust safeguards. He emphasized that at a time when Nigeria is already grappling with unsustainable debt, resorting to another foreign loan without clear terms, cost-benefit analyses, and credible repayment frameworks raises serious questions about fiscal prudence and accountability.

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What Nigerians expect is not just ambitious projects, but responsible financing. Development must not become a euphemism for deepening debt traps that generations yet unborn will be forced to repay.

Abubakar stressed that development should not come at the cost of deepening debt traps for future generations. He argued that while large-scale infrastructure is vital for economic opportunities, it must be pursued with fiscal discipline and openness. Borrowing, he asserted, should not be a substitute for innovative governance or efficient resource management.

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Nigerians have not forgotten the serious questions surrounding the opaque award process of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway—where due process, competitive bidding, and value-for-money considerations were widely called into question. We must not replicate such a troubling precedent.

Furthermore, the former Vice President called for complete transparency in the project's award and execution processes, referencing past controversies surrounding the opaque award of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. He warned against replicating such precedents, stating that public infrastructure must not become a 'private bazaar for cronies and connected interests.' Abubakar urged the National Assembly to conduct rigorous scrutiny of the loan request to ensure it genuinely serves the Nigerian people and is managed with utmost accountability.

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Public infrastructure cannot become a private bazaar for cronies and connected interests. Every kobo borrowed in the name of the Nigerian people must be matched with transparency, accountability, and strict adherence to procurement laws.