Fiscal vandalism: Atiku raises alarm over Nigeria’s N12.62tr debt profile

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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar

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By Omeiza Ajayi, Abuja

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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised the alarm over Nigeria’s debt profile, describing the disclosure that the Federal Government exceeded its 2024 borrowing limit by N4.79 trillion, pushing fresh borrowing to N12.62 trillion, as fiscal vandalism and proof that the President Bola Tinubu administration has completely lost control of the nation’s finances.

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In a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Nigerians were promised that the removal of fuel subsidy, repeated tax hikes and other harsh economic measures would reduce borrowing and restore fiscal stability, but the country was instead witnessing “endless borrowing, ballooning debt and unprecedented waste.”

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According to the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC, the Budget Office disclosed that the Federal Government borrowed 61.2 per cent above what was approved by the National Assembly.

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He noted that an additional N3.19 trillion classified as “budget support” was obtained despite no such provision existing in the approved budget, with no clear disclosure of its source.

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Atiku said the development was not an isolated incident but fits into what he called a disturbing pattern that has become the defining signature of the Tinubu administration, listing the creation of fake agencies, padded budgets with duplicated allocations, funds hidden under the Service Wide Vote, and obscene allocations for luxury SUVs while critical sectors struggle for survival.

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He questioned what the borrowing was funding, insisting it was certainly not education, where children continue to learn under deplorable conditions, nor healthcare, where hospitals remain underfunded, nor security, where innocent Nigerians are massacred while security agencies complain of inadequate funding, nor infrastructure, given that roads remain death traps and electricity has become an expensive luxury.

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The former Vice President pointed to what he described as a troubling contradiction, noting that high crude oil prices had handed the Federal Government an estimated N7.98 trillion oil windfall in recent days, yet instead of reducing borrowing, the government continued to pile debt upon debt.

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He cited the Budget Office report as showing that debt servicing alone consumed N12.36 trillion, exceeding the budget by more than 52 per cent, warning that Nigeria was fast approaching the point where government exists primarily to borrow in order to repay previous borrowings.

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Atiku maintained that no responsible government mortgages the future of unborn generations while simultaneously presiding over duplicated budgets, wasteful expenditures, opaque financial practices and an ever-expanding bureaucracy, asking: “Where is all the money going?”

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He observed that whenever revenues increase, borrowing also increases; whenever taxes increase, borrowing still increases; whenever subsidy is removed, borrowing accelerates; and whenever budgets are padded and duplicated, borrowing becomes the answer once again. “This is not governance. It is a debt addiction,” he said.

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The ADC candidate said Nigeria deserves a government that lives within its means, eliminates waste, restores transparency, blocks leakages and channels public resources into productive investments rather than financing an endless cycle of borrowing.

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“The Nigerian people cannot continue paying today’s taxes to service yesterday’s loans while tomorrow’s generations inherit only debt,” he said.

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