Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has lambasted the President Bola Tinubu administration for borrowing despite the windfall coming from high prices of international crude oil .
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku labelled the government’s economic management as contradictory, opaque, and lacking in fiscal discipline.
He stated that the Federal Government had already gotten about ₦5 trillion from the domestic bond market in the first half of 2026, nearly 80 per cent of the total amount borrowed during the corresponding period in 2025.
Atiku such aggressive borrowing can only be comprehended if government revenues had collapsed.
“The exact opposite is the case,” he said.
He highlighted that while the 2026 Appropriation Act benchmarked crude oil at $64.84 per barrel, the average price of Brent crude, the benchmark for Nigerian oil, remained around $92 per barrel between March 1 and July 14. Nigerian crude typically sells at a premium above Brent, making the government’s earnings even higher.
“This naturally raises two unavoidable questions,” Atiku said.
“First, why is a government enjoying such an extraordinary oil windfall borrowing at almost twice last year’s pace as though the nation were in financial distress? Second, where is the money?”
“Nigerians deserve a full accounting of this windfall. Where has the money gone? Why is there no transparent disclosure of the proceeds from excess crude sales? Why is government borrowing heavily when oil revenues are significantly above budget projections?” he asked.
Atiku recalled that past administrations maintained clear mechanisms for warehousing and reporting excess crude earnings through the Sovereign Wealth Fund and other established fiscal buffers.
“Today, Nigerians have been left completely in the dark. A government that cannot explain what it has done with an estimated ₦7.98 trillion in additional oil receipts has no moral authority to continue plunging the country deeper into debt,” he stated.
“It is increasingly evident that this administration lacks the competence, discipline, and transparency required to manage the nation’s resources. Rather than allowing Nigerians to benefit from favourable global oil prices, it has chosen the path of endless borrowing, mounting debt, and deepening poverty.
“An ADC administration under my leadership will pursue a fundamentally different approach. Every kobo earned above the budget oil benchmark will be transparently accounted for and managed under a rules-based fiscal framework. Rather than borrowing recklessly in the midst of plenty, we will deploy excess revenues to reduce the nation’s debt burden, strengthen our fiscal buffers, and invest strategically in infrastructure, education, healthcare, agriculture, and other productive sectors that create jobs and stimulate sustainable economic growth.
“We will restore transparency in the management of oil revenues by publishing regular reports on excess crude earnings and ensuring that public finances are subject to the highest standards of accountability. We will cut the cost of governance, eliminate waste, block leakages, and ensure that borrowing is undertaken only for productive investments capable of generating measurable economic returns—not to finance consumption or conceal fiscal irresponsibility.
“Nigerians deserve answers. They deserve accountability. Above all, they deserve a government that manages national wealth in the public interest, not one that presides over unprecedented opacity while asking future generations to repay debts incurred in the midst of plenty,” Atiku said.
