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 until the President publishes full details of the projects to be funded.
Atiku said the lawmakers must not approve “a single dollar” until the government provides details of every project, contract, cost, contractor, loan term and repayment obligation.
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.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, 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.
Atiku faulted the President for failing to provide a project-by-project account of how the proposed loans would be spent, arguing that listing broad sectors was not enough to justify the scale of the borrowing.
“The President has listed broad sectors but has not provided Nigerians with a project by project account of what this enormous borrowing will fund. There are no clear project details, costs, locations or contractors for the public to scrutinise,” he said.
The former vice president also questioned the rerouting of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway inland, alleging that the project could be used to channel borrowed public funds to Tinubu’s political campaigners and favoured contractors.
“That silence is especially troubling when the Coastal Highway has been rerouted inland. 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,” Atiku said.
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.
“Is this a development plan for Nigerians or a campaign financing scheme dressed up as infrastructure? Tinubu must answer,” he said.
Atiku insisted that the National Assembly must make the proposal and its supporting documents public and subject them to rigorous scrutiny before taking a decision.
“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,” he said.
He added: “I warned Nigerians before this request reached the Senate. Now the burden is on Tinubu to prove that this borrowing will serve the country, not his political interests.”
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