Atiku Abubakar, Former Vice-President, has challenged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to disclose how it plans to deploy its $5 billion financing facility from First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), warning that Nigerians and future generations will bear the cost of repaying the debt without knowing how the funds are being used.
The demand comes after Taiwo Oyedele, Finance Minister, said the Federal Government would not publish details of the loan’s spending, arguing that the facility was not different from other government financing arrangements.
Oyedele made the comments on Wednesday during a media briefing in Abuja while responding to questions about the government’s borrowing plans and the controversial financing arrangement with FAB.
He said the transaction had passed the required approval process, including consideration by the National Assembly, and therefore did not need to be treated differently from other sources of government financing.
The $5 billion facility is part of a wider $6 billion external borrowing package approved by the National Assembly in March. The Federal Government has subsequently accessed about $1.5 billion as the first tranche of the FAB facility.
