Former Vice President and ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has strongly urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to account for existing loans before taking on an additional $1.5 billion World Bank loan.

Atiku Abubakar released a statement on Monday through Phrank Shaibu, the Director of Strategic Communications for the ADC Presidential Campaign Council. He argued that Nigerian citizens deserve clear information about where previous loans went and what development results they produced.

The statement pointed out that Nigeria’s public debt has reached ₦166.79 trillion. It also said that taking on more debt would make life harder for citizens who are already struggling with rising costs of food, fuel, and electricity.

“Nigerians were told that making tough choices would bring resources for development. They have made the tough choices. So where is the development?” Atiku asked.

He showed that if Nigeria’s public debt were split equally among all citizens, each person would owe ₦716,822. Three years ago, this amount was only ₦383,442, which is an 87 percent increase.

“Tinubu has made life harder now and made the future look uncertain. He should not keep borrowing money and then expect Nigerians to celebrate program announcements,” he said.

Atiku thought the $500 million investment plan was a good idea because it would help with climate resilience, social protection, and early childhood development—things that Nigeria really needs. But he said there’s a big problem: nobody knows where the money from old loans actually went or how it was used.

He asked the government to be totally honest about everything. He wanted to know which projects would get the money, which communities would benefit, what goals each program had, what the loan terms were, and how they would check if things were working.

“Climate resilience needs to show real results—like better farmland, working irrigation systems, and communities safe from floods. Social protection needs to say exactly who gets help and when they get paid. Early childhood development needs to prove kids are healthier, have better healthcare, and do better in school,” he said.

Atiku pressed further, questioning the logic behind increased borrowing when the government claims expanding revenues and savings from subsidy reforms.

“If the government is making more money, why do they need more debt? When Nigerians have sacrifices so much, where are the visible, concrete results?” he challenged

He said the government should prove that the old loans worked before asking for new ones.

“Account for the funds already received. Show what infrastructure was built. Explain who benefited from these investments. Provide complete documentation of Nigeria’s current debt obligations before requesting another loan,” Atiku said.