Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has accused the federal government of fiscal indiscipline, warning that its domestic borrowing is starving Nigerian businesses of credit, killing jobs and worsening the cost-of-living crisis.
In a statement issued on Monday by Phrank Shaibu, his senior special assistant on public communication, Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said the scale of government borrowing was “particularly” alarming given the rise in crude oil prices above the benchmark used for the 2026 budget.
He said the federal government had borrowed N24.7 trillion from the domestic market between January and August 2026, representing a 90.5 percent increase from the N12.98 trillion borrowed during the corresponding period in 2025.
“At the beginning of this fiscal year, the Federal Government budgeted on an oil benchmark of $64.85 per barrel. Today, crude oil prices have risen substantially above that benchmark,” the statement reads.
“Yet, instead of this windfall translating into lower borrowing, stronger businesses and relief for Nigerians, the Federal Government went into the domestic market and borrowed a staggering ₦24.7 trillion between January and August 2026.”
‘WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING?’
Atiku said the increased borrowing was difficult to justify because the President Bola Tinubu administration had removed the fuel subsidy, floated the naira and benefited from higher nominal government revenues.
“Tinubu removed fuel subsidy and told Nigerians the sacrifice would free up money. He floated the naira and government revenues consequently received a massive nominal boost,” the former vice-president said.
“Oil prices have risen sharply. Revenues have improved. Yet the borrowing has not gone down — it has exploded. So the question Nigerians must ask again is very simple: where is the money going?”
He said government borrowing is also competing with businesses for access to credit, arguing that credit to the government grew by 43 percent, compared with 9.6 percent growth in credit to the private sector.
“Government credit is expanding about 4.5 times faster than credit to businesses,” he said.
Atiku described the trend as evidence that the government’s economic reforms had failed to deliver meaningful benefits to the private sector.
He said private-sector performance should be one of the key measures of the effectiveness of economic policies, noting that successful reforms should enable businesses to expand, invest, hire workers and access capital more easily.
“But under Tinubu’s economic policy, the exact opposite is happening,” he said.
“The public sector is exerting an increasingly parasitic effect on the private sector — consuming the credit, capital and financial oxygen that productive businesses desperately need.”
‘BUSINESSES PAY MORE FOR CREDIT, JOBS DISAPPEAR’
Atiku said banks would prefer lending to the government at attractive rates with lower perceived risks than extending cheaper credit to businesses.
“When banks can lend to government at attractive, risk-free rates, why would they lend cheaply to the manufacturer in Aba, the furniture maker in Kaduna, the agro-processor in Kano or the young entrepreneur in Lagos?” he asked.
He said the resulting pressure on credit costs would make it harder for businesses to expand and increase production.
“The result is obvious: businesses pay more for credit, expansion is postponed, factories struggle, jobs disappear and the cost of producing everything from food to household goods rises,” he said.
“This government is not merely borrowing money; it is borrowing away the future of Nigerian businesses.”
Atiku said Nigeria could not achieve sustainable economic growth if government continued to dominate the domestic credit market.
He said an economy grows when businesses can borrow to expand production, farmers can access affordable financing, and entrepreneurs can obtain capital to create jobs.
“My administration will impose fiscal discipline, cut waste, prioritise productive expenditure and progressively reduce the government’s suffocating dependence on the domestic credit market,” he said.
“Government must make room for the private sector to breathe, invest, produce and employ.”
In April, Tinubu stated that his administration will continue to borrow whenever necessary, insisting that it should not be viewed negatively.
“If we have to borrow, we borrow. Borrowing is not leprosy; we just have to work hard to be able to pay for it,” the president said.
