Tinubu’s $500m Loan Is Debt Trap For Me, Atiku Claims

Former Vice President and Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the Tinubu administration’s pursuit of a proposed $500 million World Bank loan, describing it as a debt trap for his incoming administration and Nigerians.

Atiku said President Bola Tinubu cannot borrow in the final days of his tenure and leave the Atiku administration and the Nigerian people to repay it.

“No outgoing president has the right to burden his successor with fresh debt days before handing over power,” he said.

In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication, ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku said: “Taking loans as if you were a drunken sailor is a road to economic bondage, a second slavery. If this government is determined to mortgage Nigeria’s future and place our country at the mercy of creditors, we will not accept it.”

“On January 16, Nigerians will vote for a new direction: a government that puts affordable living first, not one that keeps pursuing loans whose terms and consequences have not been clearly explained to the people.”

“The Tinubu administration’s latest move is a preemptive attempt to lock Nigeria into a path of economic instability, even after Nigerians have roundly rejected its poverty inflicting reforms. A government cannot use its final days in office to bind the country and make governance more difficult for its successor.”

Atiku noted that according to the report, the proposed $500 million facility is scheduled for consideration on May 25, 2027, just four days before the next presidential inauguration.

“According to the report, the proposed $500 million facility is scheduled for consideration on May 25, 2027, just four days before the next presidential inauguration. President Tinubu has no business committing the country to fresh debt as he prepares to leave office,” he said.

“As the Swahili proverb warns, ‘If you borrow a man’s legs, you will go where he directs.’ A leader who borrows on his way out leaves his successor walking on the lender’s legs, constrained by obligations and choices the people did not make,” he added.

He called on the World Bank not to approve the proposed loan on the timetable now being contemplated, saying Nigerians deserve full disclosure of its terms, risks and repayment obligations.

“We call on the World Bank not to approve this proposed loan on the timetable now being contemplated. Nigerians deserve full disclosure of its terms, risks and repayment obligations, and the opportunity to scrutinise a commitment that will outlast the administration pursuing it,” he said.

“I will not accept it. The Atiku administration will commence on May 29, 2027, and we will not begin our government by taking another loan. We will begin with a commitment to responsible leadership, fiscal discipline and the protection of Nigeria’s future,” he said.