Atiku slams Oyedele, demands details of $5bn Abu Dhabi loan

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has demanded full disclosure of how the Federal Government plans to deploy the $5 billion financing facility secured from First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), saying Nigerians and future generations will bear the burden of repayment.

Atiku’s demand followed comments by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, that the Federal Government would not publish details of how funds drawn from the facility would be spent.

Oyedele made the disclosure on Wednesday while responding to questions on the government’s borrowing plans and the financing arrangement with FAB during a media briefing in Abuja.

The minister said there was no need to treat the facility differently from other sources of government financing, adding that the transaction had undergone the required approval processes, including consideration by the National Assembly.

The $5 billion facility is part of a broader $6 billion external borrowing package approved by the National Assembly in March. The Federal Government has subsequently accessed about $1.5 billion as the first tranche of the FAB facility.

Reacting in a statement issued on Sunday by his media office, Atiku accused the Tinubu administration of incompetence and financial impropriety, particularly over what he described as a lack of transparency in recent loan agreements.

He specifically criticised the handling of the $5 billion FAB facility, insisting that taxpayers deserved to know how the funds would be utilised.

“Since assuming office on May 29, 2023, President Bola Tinubu’s administration has contracted significant new debt,” the statement read.

“According to the Debt Management Office, the Tinubu administration has added N72 Trillion of fresh debt stock, bringing the total indebtedness to N159.35 trillion as at early 2026.”

Despite the increased borrowing, Atiku argued that Nigerians had remained poorer and less secure under the current administration.

According to him, poverty levels had risen from 56 per cent in 2023 to between 61 and 63 per cent under the Tinubu administration, leaving more than 140 million Nigerians trapped in multidimensional poverty.

Atiku also criticised Oyedele for dismissing calls for greater disclosure on the Abu Dhabi loan.

“The government is obliged to explain every loan taken on behalf of Nigerians,” Atiku said.

“Every Kobo borrowed matters because citizens — both living and unborn — will bear the burden of repayment. Yet these loans have failed to improve their material wellbeing.”

He further noted that the Federal Government was required to pledge securities worth about 133 per cent of the loan amount as collateral, arguing that this made transparency over the facility even more important.

Atiku also cited concerns reportedly raised by the International Monetary Fund and Fitch Ratings over the financing structure, particularly regarding transparency and sovereign debt sustainability.

The former vice-president urged Nigerians to demand accountability from the government, arguing that borrowing without clear and measurable results could undermine public trust and jeopardise the country’s economic future.