The Presidency has urged the former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and other critics of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to base their assessment of government borrowings on the nation’s economic capacity and revenue performances.
A release by the Presidential.spokesman, Bayo Onanuga on Sunday responding to criticism of the President’s policies also claimed that allegation of the N7.98 oil windfall by the opposition arrowhead was analytically flawed.
Responding to allegation of reckless borrowing despite raise in revenues, Onanuga cited the nation’s debt-to-GDP ratio at about 40% in comparison with countries as South Africa (85%), Egypt (80%), and Kenya (75%), and far below advanced economies like the U.S. (130%) and U.K. (110%)
He maintained that debt-service-to-revenue ratio has fallen from nearly 100% in late 2022 to under 60% in 2026 reflecting improved revenue efficiency and conservative debt management.
Onanuga also dismissed Atiku’s claim of an N7.98 trillion oil windfall as analytically flawed.
According to him, Brent crude averaged about $90 per barrel in the first half of 2026 versus a $64.85 benchmark, with daily production falling short at 1.6 million barrels at the face of a forecast 1.84 million bpd.
He disclosed that some crude volumes were pledged for loans used to fund past subsidy payment which limited immediate revenue availability.
The presidential aide added that inflation fell to 14.4% in November 2025 before rising to 15.91% amid Middle East war disruptions, with analysts now projecting a decline toward 12% by year-end.
Onanuga insisted that the government launched ward-centric NG-CARES, HOPE, and SOLID programmes worth over $3 billion, alongside cash transfers to 15 million households.
The Presidential spokesman thereafter cautioned Atiku and his followers to adopt a more mature national conversation approach focused on measurable outcomes rather than slogans.
on the removal of fuel subsidy, Onanuga said such was inevitable because it had drained public finances for decades.
According to him, accruals from the subsidy removal have visibly boosted statutory allocations to states and local governments, enabling higher spending on infrastructure, salaries, pensions, and social programs.
Citing World Bank assessments, the presidential aide said public revenues and subnational capital spending have improved following the reforms insisting that such has translated into true federalism.
On claims of punitive taxation, he said the reforms were designed to broaden the tax base while shielding low-income earners and small businesses.
He noted that Individuals earning up to ₦1 million annually and enterprises with turnover below ₦100 million wree meant to bear lighter burdens, while compliance was tightened among higher earners and profitable firms.
He highlighted health-sector investments, including the revitalization of more than 3,000 primary healthcare centers, retraining of 78,000 frontline workers, and the operation of three cancer centers with expansions in 13 states.
On education, Onanuga pointed to over 11,000 basic education projects and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which has disbursed more than ₦303 billion to 1.64 million students across 300 institutions whilst listing the huge gains recorded by the government including ongoing infrastructure projects—highways, rail, ports, power, airports, gas, housing, and digital connectivity—to rising public investment and private-sector growth.
These efforts he said have helped trigger the 49% leap in dollar GDP and 69% rise in naira GDP since 2024.
Onanuga said Atiku’s economic arguments remained anchored in 2024, even as Nigeria’s economy has rebounded sharply in dollar and naira terms.
