FORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that President Bola Tinubu’s addiction to loans would mortgage Nigeria’s future.
He expressed his concern in a statement shared on his X handle on Thursday, May 29.
According to the former vice president, the announcement by the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government to pursue fresh external and domestic loans is a reckless and dangerous move that threatens the future of Nigeria and generations yet unborn.
“Despite national outrage, this administration is pushing ahead with plans to borrow $21.54 billion, €2.19 billion, and ¥15 billion — an equivalent of over $24 billion, which is more than 60 per cent of Nigeria’s total foreign exchange reserves.
“This borrowing spree will raise our total public debt from ₦144.7 trillion to a crushing ₦183 trillion,” he stated.
The president said in the loan request, submitted on Tuesday, May 27, to the National Assembly, that it aimed at funding key projects in infrastructure, health, education, and water supply.
An analysis by The ICIR showed that if the president’s request is approved, every Nigerian could owe about N770,000 as the country’s debt profile would rise to N183 trillion.
In his statement on Thursday, the former vice president lamented that Nigeria’s debt burden was already at alarming level.
He noted that as of December 31, 2024, the country’s public debt stood at $94 billion or N144.7 trillion.
“Since President @officialABAT assumed office in 2023, public debt has jumped by 65.6 per cent.
“Under the APC-led administration since 2015, public debt has ballooned by 1,048 per cent, from ₦12.6 trillion to ₦144.7 trillion,” Atiku said.
He stressed that the debt-to-GDP ratio had exceeded 50 per cent and the debt-service-to-revenue ratio was over 130 per cent, adding that the government was spending more on repaying loans than it earned.
He said the move was not just unsustainable but immoral.
Atiku further maintained that Tinubu’s administration was borrowing money not for development but to service existing loans, fueling a debt spiral that left nothing for infrastructure, education, healthcare, or jobs.
He said this addiction to borrowing by the APC-led administration had turned public finance into a Ponzi scheme — borrowing to pay debt, then borrowing again to pay interest.
“Nigeria is now caught in a vicious cycle that mortgages the future to pay for the past. We warn that this is economic sabotage in plain sight. We demand that this reckless borrowing plan be halted immediately.
“We call on lawmakers, civil society organisations, the media, and the international community to take urgent action to stop this looming catastrophe. Nigeria must not be sold into debt slavery,” he urged.