Atiku queries FG over N7.98tn oil windfall, rising debt

Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President,  has challenged the federal government to explain what he described as an estimated N7.98tn oil revenue windfall, questioning why the President Tinubu administration continues to ramp up domestic borrowing despite crude oil prices trading well above the 2026 budget benchmark.

In a statement issued on Sunday by Phrank Shaibu, his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for the 2027 poll accused the government of failing to account for excess oil earnings while piling more debt on the country.

Atiku said the federal government had already raised about N5tn from the domestic bond market in the first half of 2026, almost 80% of the amount borrowed during the corresponding period in 2025 even though oil prices had remained significantly above the budget benchmark.

 

Read also: Atiku blasts Tinubu, says China comparison invites tough public scrutiny

According to him, with the 2026 budget based on $64.84 per barrel, while crude traded at an average of about $92 per barrel between March 1 and July 14, Nigeria should have realised an estimated $5.76bn (N7.98tn) in excess revenue.

He asked why the government was borrowing “at almost twice last year’s pace” despite the oil windfall, demanding full disclosure of the proceeds from excess crude sales.

Recall that the Tinubu administration has consistently defended its borrowing programme as necessary to finance budget deficits, infrastructure projects and ongoing economic reforms.

Atiku argued that neither higher oil earnings nor savings from fuel subsidy removal had translated into better living conditions, citing rising poverty, weak infrastructure and poor public services.

“Nigerians deserve a full accounting of this windfall. Where has the money gone? Why is there no transparent disclosure of the proceeds from excess crude sales? Why is government borrowing heavily when oil revenues are significantly above budget projections?

“Today, Nigerians have been left completely in the dark. A government that cannot explain what it has done with an estimated N7.98tn in additional oil receipts has no moral authority to continue plunging the country deeper into debt.

“It is increasingly evident that this administration lacks the competence, discipline, and transparency required to manage the nation’s resources.

“Rather than allowing Nigerians to benefit from favourable global oil prices, it has chosen the path of endless borrowing, mounting debt, and deepening poverty,” he added.

Atiku pledged that an ADC administration would enforce strict fiscal transparency by publishing regular reports on excess oil revenues, using windfall earnings to reduce public debt, strengthen fiscal reserves and finance infrastructure, healthcare, education and agriculture instead of recurrent expenditure.