Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has urged the National Assembly to suspend consideration of President Bola Tinubu’s request for approval to borrow $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion in external loans until full details of the projects to be financed are published.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, made the call in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu.
He said the borrowing proposal vindicated his earlier warning on October 12 that the administration was preparing to secure loans of up to $20 billion, which he linked to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
Tinubu’s request was conveyed in a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday. The President said the funds would address infrastructure deficits and support development projects across sectors including infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, education, water supply, security, employment generation and financial management reforms.
Atiku faulted the absence of project-by-project details, including costs, locations and contractors, arguing that listing broad sectors was insufficient to justify the scale of the borrowing.
“Barely 12 weeks before an election, how can the President ask lawmakers to saddle Nigerians with more than $20 billion and €1 billion in debt without identifying the projects and their costs?” he asked.
“Is this a development plan for Nigerians or a campaign financing scheme dressed up as infrastructure?”
The former vice-president insisted that the National Assembly must not approve a single dollar until the government publishes every project, contract, cost, contractor, loan term and repayment obligation.
“No public money should be borrowed in the dark, and no lawmaker should sign a blank cheque against Nigeria’s future,” he said.
