Atiku Says Tinubu Borrows Like Shark, Debt Hit N166 Trillion

Atiku Abubakar has come for President Bola Tinubu's neck, calling his government one of the most ruinous Nigeria has ever had, and the number he dropped is the part nobody can argue with: public debt moved from N49.85 trillion in March 2023 to N166.79 trillion by June 30, 2026, according to the Debt Management Office.

In a statement signed by Phrank Shaibu, the ADC campaign's director of strategic communications, Atiku wrote, "A government that says more money is coming in must explain why it keeps borrowing and why the people paying for its policies cannot see the promised gains." He also said, "The Tinubu economy is producing two Nigerias: one in which ordinary citizens are suffocating under rising food, fuel, transport, electricity, education and housing costs, and another in which those with wealth, access and privilege are far better positioned to protect and multiply their fortunes."

Here is where I part ways with the noise. Atiku is not wrong on the debt figures, but he is also the same man who supervised the sale of Nigeria's refineries and left office in 2007 with the country still importing fuel. So when he asks Tinubu to "put the full account before Nigerians," I hear a man reading a script he once ignored. The real question is not whether Tinubu borrows like a shark. It is why every government since 1999 borrows like a shark and still cannot fix one road in Lokoja. Be honest, if Atiku were in Aso Rock today, would the borrowing stop or would we just hear a different accent defending it?