By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has rejected the defence of President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies by the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, describing it as a desperate attempt at revisionism.
In a statement on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the government’s claims on public debt, subsidy removal, debt servicing and workers’ welfare collapse under the weight of publicly available facts.
“Which salary increase is the government talking about? The Federal Government is yet to fully implement the new minimum wage. The 40 per cent peculiar allowance tied to the wage adjustment remains unpaid despite official directives that it should take effect from May 1, 2026,” he said, adding that “these are not opposition allegations; they are the grievances of organised labour.”
On the administration’s public debt profile, Atiku cited figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN, noting that the Federal Government’s exposure to the apex bank stood at approximately ₦26.9 trillion when President Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, and has since risen to over ₦40.38 trillion.
He said CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso had disclosed that the bank’s credit to the Federal Government rose from ₦22.99 trillion in May 2025 to ₦40.38 trillion in May 2026, an increase of ₦17.39 trillion, or 77.6 per cent, within one year.
“This administration has not reduced its indebtedness to the CBN. It has merely changed the label on the debt by converting Ways and Means advances into Treasury Bills and bonds while simultaneously piling up fresh obligations. That is debt restructuring—not debt repayment,” he said.
Atiku also challenged the government’s claim that subsidy savings are financing the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), citing an earlier disclosure by the fund’s Chief Executive Officer.
According to him, the Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND had publicly stated that the scheme received a ₦50 billion injection from recovered funds by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC.
“If that is the case, why is the government now presenting subsidy savings as the source?” he asked.
He further faulted attempts to blame rising debt servicing costs solely on high interest rates, pointing instead to government borrowing patterns under the current Monetary Policy Rate regime.
Atiku said government’s insatiable appetite for borrowing has crowded out productive businesses while pushing debt servicing to unsustainable levels, adding that to now blame interest rates is nothing short of an admission of policy failure.
The former Vice President listed food prices, inflation, business closures, unemployment, naira depreciation and deepening poverty as the realities confronting Nigerians, which he said no presentation could obscure.
He urged government officials to abandon media spin and confront the country’s economic realities with sincerity and accountability.
