Nigeria's Atiku Abubakar demands disclosure on oil earnings mortgaged by Tinubu administration

Nigeria's former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has leveled serious accusations against the current administration, alleging that President Bola Tinubu's government is mortgaging the nation's future oil earnings through opaque financing arrangements. Abubakar demanded full transparency regarding the terms of these undisclosed crude-backed deals.

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In attempting to rebut our position, the Presidency inadvertently strengthened it. It admitted that despite higher international crude oil prices, Nigerians cannot fully benefit because substantial volumes of the nation’s crude have already been committed under crude-backed financing arrangements.

His Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, stated that the Presidency's own attempts to defend its economic record had, in fact, strengthened Abubakar's concerns. "In attempting to rebut our position, the Presidency inadvertently strengthened it. It admitted that despite higher international crude oil prices, Nigerians cannot fully benefit because substantial volumes of the nation’s crude have already been committed under crude-backed financing arrangements," the statement read.

Abubakar characterized this admission as an indictment rather than a defense. He questioned who authorized these transactions, how many barrels of crude have been pledged, the repayment terms, the revenue received, the projects financed, and the identities of the counterparties. "These are not political questions; they are constitutional questions about transparency and accountability," he asserted.

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These are not political questions; they are constitutional questions about transparency and accountability.

The former Vice President also linked this demand for oil disclosure to the administration's defense of its fuel subsidy removal. He argued that the Presidency cannot claim success in eliminating the subsidy while simultaneously explaining away missing oil revenues by pointing to obligations created by subsidy financing. "That contradiction speaks louder than any press statement," Abubakar concluded, emphasizing that transparency, not propaganda, is the true measure of fiscal responsibility.

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That contradiction speaks louder than any press statement.