Atiku asks N’Assembly to suspend Tinubu’s $20.52bn loan request

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged the National Assembly to suspend consideration of President Bola Tinubu’s request for approval to obtain $20.52bn and €1.045bn in external loans until the Federal Government publishes details of the projects to be financed.

Atiku, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, said the borrowing proposal vindicated his earlier warning that the administration was preparing to secure loans of up to $20bn in connection with the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.

He expressed concern that the absence of project-by-project details, including costs, locations and contractors, could expose the proposed borrowing to abuse and political manipulation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president called on lawmakers to demand full disclosure of the proposed loans and their intended uses before granting approval.

“The National Assembly must not approve a single dollar until the President publishes every project, contract, cost, contractor, loan term and repayment obligation,” Atiku said.

“No public money should be borrowed in the dark, and no lawmaker should sign a blank cheque against Nigeria’s future.”

Atiku had on October 12, 2026, raised concerns over reports that the President was preparing to borrow up to $20bn in connection with the coastal highway. He said Tinubu neither confirmed nor denied the allegation nor published the accounts he had requested.

According to him, the subsequent request for approval to borrow $20.52bn and €1.045bn reinforced his concerns about the administration’s borrowing plans.

“The president has listed broad sectors but has not provided a project-by-project account of what this enormous borrowing will fund. Nigerians have not been given clear project details, costs, locations or contractors to scrutinise,” he said.

The ADC chieftain also questioned the timing of the proposed borrowing, arguing that Nigerians should not be saddled with substantial debt without adequate information about the projects and the terms of repayment.

He linked his concerns to the reported inland rerouting of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, alleging that the project could become a channel through which borrowed funds reach political campaigners and favoured contractors.

He warned that any borrowing undertaken without the required constitutional, statutory and due-process requirements would face scrutiny if he assumed office.

“I put local and international lenders on notice: any loan granted to this winding-down administration must meet all constitutional, statutory and due-process requirements,” he said.

“Upon assumption of office, I will scrutinise every such loan. Any borrowing found to have been obtained without proper authorisation or process will be challenged and will not be allowed to stand,” he added.

Atiku said he would make the examination of loans obtained in the final year of the Tinubu administration one of his first responsibilities if elected president, adding that every expenditure must be accounted for through lawful means.

He also called on the National Assembly to publish the loan proposal and supporting documents and subject them to rigorous examination before reaching a decision.

The ADC presidential candidate argued that the proposed borrowing would place an additional burden on households already grappling with the rising cost of living, insisting that Nigerians deserved to know who would benefit from the loans and how the debts would be repaid.

“The woman fighting to keep her business alive and the worker spending their income just to feed deserve to know where the money is going, who will benefit and who will pay,” he said.

He urged lawmakers to resist approving the request without adequate disclosures, maintaining that the government had a responsibility to demonstrate that the borrowing would serve the public interest rather than political interests.

The proposed external borrowing has renewed questions about Nigeria’s debt management, transparency in public spending and the need for effective legislative oversight of government borrowing.

Under Nigeria’s fiscal and debt-management framework, external borrowing proposals are subject to the relevant approval processes, while the National Assembly exercises its constitutional legislative responsibilities. Disclosure of the proposed projects, financing terms and repayment obligations would enable lawmakers to assess the purpose and implications of the borrowing before deciding whether to approve it.