File: Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar.
Former vice president and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, on Wednesday accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of losing control of Nigeria’s public finances following a report that the Federal Government borrowed far above the limit approved by the National Assembly in the 2024 fiscal year.
Atiku said the latest figures, which showed that the Federal Government exceeded its approved borrowing ceiling by ₦4.79tn, pushing total fresh borrowing to ₦12.62tn, underscored what he described as a pattern of fiscal recklessness, opacity and waste under the current administration.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president said Nigerians were assured that the removal of fuel subsidy, increased taxation and other economic reforms would reduce borrowing and stabilise the country’s finances, but argued that the opposite had occurred.
According to him, the latest borrowing figures demonstrate that the government’s economic policies have failed to achieve their stated objectives.
