The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku, has reacted to the fresh $1.5 billion loan President Bola Tinubu is seeking from the World Bank, and said the president should first account for the previous money he had already borrowed.
Atiku in a statement by Director, Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Phrank Shaibu, noted that the nation’s public debt now stood at ₦166.79 trillion.
He recalled that when Tonubu removed fuel subsidy, he promised Nigerians that there would be enough resources for development, but regretted that Tinubu’s policies have inflicted hardship on Nigerians.
“Families are struggling to afford food, fuel and electricity, yet the debt continues to climb.
“Tinubu has made today difficult and tomorrow more uncertain. He cannot keep loading debt onto the country and expect Nigerians to applaud programme titles,” he stated.
The former Vice President demanded to know the projects Tinub government has executed, or who has benefited from the money that accrued from fuel subsidy removal, or the loans he have acquired.
He stated that before the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government could embark on another borrowing spree, it should publish the projects to be funded, the communities and citizens expected to benefit from it, the targets for each programme, the terms of borrowing and disbursement, as well as a timetable Nigerians could use to track delivery.
The ADC candidate admitted that the proposed $500 million facilities for climate resilience, social protection and early childhood development could address real needs of the people, and added that “worthy programme names cannot stand in for a public account of how previous loans were spent or a clear plan for delivering measurable results.
“Climate resilience must mean identifiable land restored, irrigation delivered and communities protected from flooding.
“Social protection must identify who receives support and when. Early childhood development must produce measurable gains in nutrition, healthcare and learning.”
Atiku also challenged the government to reconcile its appetite for borrowing with its repeated claims of higher revenue and savings from petrol subsidy removal.
“If more money is coming in, why does the debt keep climbing? If Nigerians have sacrificed so much, where are the results?
“A government cannot keep announcing savings, signing loans and asking the same struggling families to wait for relief,” Atiku stated.
