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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar criticized the Nigerian government for what he described as “unprecedented domestic borrowing” despite a significant increase in revenue from high international crude oil prices.
In a statement issued on Sunday by Senior Special Assistant for Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku pointed out that although the Appropriation Act of 2026 set the price of crude oil at $64.84 per barrel, Brent crude oil averaged around $92 per barrel between March 1 and July 14.
“This of course raises two unavoidable questions,” Atiku said.
“First, why is the government enjoying a windfall from an extraordinary oil loan of almost double the size of last year as if the country was in financial trouble? Second, where is the money?”
According to him, a $27.15 difference between the reference price and the market price, with average production of 1.5 million barrels per day, means about $42.7 million in additional revenue each day.
“Over a 135-day period, it came to about $5.76 billion, or about ₦7.98 trillion.
“Nigerians deserve full accountability for this windfall. Where has the money gone? Why is there no transparent disclosure of excess crude oil sales proceeds? Why is the government borrowing so much money when oil revenues are far above budget projections?” he asked.
Atiku recalled that the previous administration maintained a clear mechanism to deposit excess crude oil revenues through the Sovereign Wealth Fund and other fiscal buffers.
“Right now, Nigerians are completely in the dark. A government that cannot explain what it has done with additional oil revenues of ₦7.98 trillion has no moral authority to continue driving the country deeper into debt,” he said.
The former Vice President also described the government’s economic management as “contradictory, unclear, and lacking fiscal discipline.”
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate noted that the Federal Government had raised about ₦5 trillion from the domestic bond market in the first half of 2026 – almost 80 percent of the total amount borrowed during the same period in 2025.
“Such aggressive borrowing is only understandable if government revenues plummet. The opposite is true,” Atiku said.
He further lamented that despite the oil windfall and the removal of fuel subsidies, millions of Nigerians were facing increasingly severe hardships.
Citing recent UN findings, he said about 80 percent of Nigerians cannot afford a decent meal every day, while infrastructure continues to deteriorate despite promises that subsidy savings will be channeled to roads, health services, education and other sectors.
“It is increasingly clear that this government lacks the competence, discipline and transparency necessary to manage the country’s resources. Rather than allowing Nigerians to benefit from favorable global oil prices, they have instead chosen a path of endless borrowing, ever-increasing debt and deepening poverty.”
Atiku promised that the ADC government under his leadership would account transparently for every kobo earned above the oil budget benchmark under the rules-based fiscal framework.
He added that the government will use excess revenue to reduce debt, strengthen fiscal buffers, and invest in infrastructure, education, health, agriculture and job creation sectors.
Atiku said the ADC administration would restore transparency by publishing regular reports on excess crude oil revenues and applying the highest standards of accountability to public finances.
He added that this would cut governance costs and ensure borrowing is only for productive investment, “not to finance consumption or hide fiscal irresponsibility.”
“Nigerians deserve answers. They deserve accountability. Most importantly, they deserve a government that manages national wealth in the public interest, not a government that tolerates unprecedented ambiguity while asking future generations to pay debts incurred in the midst of abundance,” he said.
