$500m loan: Don’t saddle your successor with debt, Atiku tells Tinubu

By Luminous Jannamike

Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has warned President Bola Tinubu against committing Nigeria to a proposed $500 million World Bank loan shortly before the end of his current four-year tenure, arguing that no administration should saddle the country with fresh debt without adequate justification and public scrutiny.

Atiku said the proposed borrowing, scheduled for consideration a few days before the May 29, 2027 presidential inauguration, could constrain the next administration and impose repayment obligations on Nigerians without giving them an opportunity to scrutinise the decision.

In a ...