Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President, has come out strongly against President Tinubu’s move to seek Senate approval for a new $516 million external loan, cautioning that Nigeria should not pursue borrowing without clear purpose or accountability.
President Tinubu had formally written to the Senate requesting authorization for the loan, totaling $516,333,070. As outlined in his letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read aloud during plenary session, the facility would be arranged through Deutsche Bank AG, with a partial risk guarantee provided by the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), an arm of the Islamic Development Bank. The funds are earmarked for the already-approved Sokoto-Badagry 1,000-kilometre Super Highway project.
The federal government, according to Tinubu, will contribute counterpart funding of N265,542,689,569 to cover land acquisition, compensation, and supporting infrastructure. The highway is intended to open up an economic corridor between Nigeria’s North West and South West, passing through Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos states — stretching from Illela to Badagry. The President urged the Senate to approve the request without delay.
Senate President Akpabio expressed support for the initiative, arguing that borrowing for critical infrastructure is a sound approach, particularly when such projects generate long-term economic value capable of offsetting repayment costs. He described the highway as a transformative project with the potential to save lives and drive national productivity.
The loan request was subsequently referred to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, which has been given one week to review and report back.
‘Stop reckless borrowing,’ Atiku tackles Tinubu
In a statement on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku acknowledged the necessity of infrastructure development particularly a project connecting the North-West to the South West but drew a sharp distinction between noble intentions and reckless fiscal decisions.
“At a time when Nigeria is already groaning under the weight of unsustainable debt, the resort to yet another foreign loan, without transparent terms, clear cost-benefit analysis, and a credible repayment framework, raises profound questions about prudence and accountability.
“What Nigerians expect is not just ambitious projects, but responsible financing. Development must not become a euphemism for deepening debt traps that generations yet unborn will be forced to repay.
“Nigerians have not forgotten the serious questions surrounding the opaque award process of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, where due process, competitive bidding, and value-for-money considerations were widely called into question. We must not replicate such a troubling precedent.
