Breaking: Recall My October Warning, Atiku Says As Tinubu Seeks New Loan

Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has called on the National Assembly not to approve President Bola Tinubu’s proposed external loans. He spoke after Tinubu requested the Senate’s approval to borrow $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion, a development Atiku said vindicated his October 12 warning about a loan plan of up to $20 billion.

Atiku said he had previously warned Nigerians about the proposed borrowing in connection with the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway. “On October 12, I warned Nigerians that President Tinubu was reportedly preparing to borrow up to $20 billion in connection with the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway. I demanded that he confirm or deny the plan and publish the accounts. He did neither. Today, he has asked the Senate to approve $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion in external loans. My warning has been vindicated,” he said.

Nigerians have every right to ask whether the highway is being turned into a pipeline for borrowed money to reach Tinubu’s campaigners and favoured contractors.

He questioned the timing of the loan request, asking how the President could seek approval for more than $20 billion and €1 billion in additional debt barely 12 weeks before an election without identifying the projects and their costs.

The National Assembly must not approve a single dollar until the President publishes every project, contract, cost, contractor, loan term and repayment obligation. No public money should be borrowed in the dark. No lawmaker should sign a blank cheque against Nigeria’s future.