Tinubu's administration is a weapon against Nigeria's economy, says Atiku over $4.5bn loan

Former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly condemned the National Economic Council's approval of a $4.5 billion oil-backed loan for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. He described President Bola Tinubu's administration as a "weapon fashioned against Nigeria’s economy," accusing it of mortgaging the nation's future to sustain its spending habits.

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every new oil-backed obligation pushed Nigeria deeper into a cycle where tomorrow’s wealth is sacrificed to finance today’s policy failures.

In a statement released by his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, Abubakar argued that each new oil-backed obligation pushes Nigeria deeper into a cycle of sacrificing future wealth for current policy failures. He recalled the administration's prior explanation for Nigeria's inability to fully benefit from high crude oil prices – that future earnings were already committed to such loans. Abubakar criticized the government for doubling down on this practice instead of breaking free from oil-backed indebtedness.

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Rather than breaking free from the chains of oil-backed indebtedness, it is tightening them.

"President Tinubu promised renewed hope. What Nigerians have received is renewed debt, renewed hardship and renewed uncertainty," Abubakar stated. He accused the administration of turning Nigeria into a nation permanently living on credit, with citizens enduring hardship without visible gains. He demanded the immediate publication of the refinancing deal's full details, including terms, repayment obligations, and the volume of crude oil committed, emphasizing the need for transparency and a government that protects, rather than pledges, the nation's future.

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President Tinubu promised renewed hope. What Nigerians have received is renewed debt, renewed hardship and renewed uncertainty.