The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the Federal Government over its domestic borrowing, arguing that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has continued to accumulate debt despite increased oil revenues.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president said the government borrowed ₦24.7 trillion from the domestic market between January and August 2026, even as crude oil prices remained significantly above the benchmark adopted for the 2026 budget.
Atiku described the borrowing as unprecedented, noting that the amount represented a 90.5 per cent rise compared with the ₦12.98 trillion borrowed during the corresponding period of 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.
“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 — 90.5 per cent more than the ₦12.98 trillion borrowed in the corresponding period of 2025.
“This is not fiscal management. This is a government borrowing like drunken sailors in the middle of a revenue windfall”, he said.
The former vice president argued that reforms implemented by the Tinubu administration, including the removal of the petrol subsidy and the floating of the naira, should have reduced pressure on government finances instead of increasing reliance on domestic borrowing.
He also questioned how the funds were being utilised, warning that increased government borrowing was limiting access to credit for businesses.
“So the question Nigerians must ask again is very simple: where is the money going?
“What makes this recklessness even more damaging is that government is now competing directly with Nigerian businesses for money. Credit to government grew by 43 per cent, while credit to the private sector grew by only 9.6 per cent. Government credit is expanding about 4.5 times faster than credit to businesses.
“This government is not merely borrowing money; it is borrowing away the future of Nigerian businesses.
“Nigeria cannot achieve prosperity by allowing government to swallow the credit that should finance production. An economy grows when businesses borrow to build factories, farmers borrow to expand production and entrepreneurs access affordable capital to create jobs — not when government becomes the biggest and most voracious customer in the banking hall.
“My administration will impose fiscal discipline, cut waste, prioritise productive expenditure and progressively reduce government’s suffocating dependence on the domestic credit market.
“Government must make room for the private sector to breathe, invest, produce and employ”, he stated.
