$6bn loan: Atiku knocks  Tinubu, Senate

A former Vice President and a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar,  yesterday took a swipe at the Presidency and the National Assembly for what he described as lightning-speed approval of a fresh $6 billion external loan request.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku expressed “deep concern” over reports that the Senate greenlit President Bola Tinubu’s multi-billion-dollar request in less than four hours.

“What Nigerians have witnessed is not legislative diligence, but a disturbing erosion of oversight responsibility,” Atiku stated.

“Where was the debate? Where was the rigorous analysis? Where was the accountability?” he queried.

The former vice president highlighted a “dangerous cycle” in the nation’s fiscal management, pointing out that resorting to fresh borrowing to plug budget gaps and service existing debts reflected a total absence of fiscal discipline.

Atiku said: “What does a government that appears to be preparing for electoral rejection in 2027 intend to do with an additional $6 billion in borrowed funds – on top of the mounting obligations it has already accumulated in just the first quarter of 2026?,” he queried.

Warning that the country’s  future was being “signed away in a matter of hours,” Atiku reminded the National Assembly that it was not designed to be a “rubber stamp” for executive requests.

He noted that while borrowing was not inherently wrong, “reckless borrowing, enabled by legislative complacency, is dangerous.”

The former vice president called for transparency and prudence, insisting that history would judge the current administration and the legislature for their choices.