Former Vice President and ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to account for existing borrowings before securing a proposed fresh $1.5 billion World Bank loan.

Atiku Abubakar, in a statement issued on Monday by the Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, said Nigerians deserved greater transparency on how previous loans had been spent and the results achieved.

The statement cited Nigeria’s public debt at ₦166.79 trillion and argued that the proposed borrowing would add to the financial burden on citizens already struggling with the cost of food, fuel and electricity.

“Nigerians were promised that painful policies would free resources for development. They have felt the pain. Where is the development?” Atiku asked.

He said that if Nigeria’s public debt were divided among the population, each person’s share would amount to ₦716,822, compared with ₦383,442 three years earlier, representing an 87 per cent increase.

“Tinubu has made today difficult and tomorrow more uncertain. He cannot keep loading debt onto the country and expect Nigerians to applaud programme titles,” he said.

Atiku acknowledged that the proposed $500 million facilities for climate resilience, social protection and early childhood development addressed genuine needs, but said programme descriptions should be matched by clear details of how previous loans were spent.

He called on the government to publish the projects to be funded, communities and citizens expected to benefit, programme targets, borrowing and disbursement terms, as well as a timetable for tracking implementation.

“Climate resilience must mean identifiable land restored, irrigation delivered and communities protected from flooding. Social protection must identify who receives support and when. Early childhood development must produce measurable gains in nutrition, healthcare and learning,” he said.

Atiku also questioned the need for additional borrowing amid government claims of increased revenue and savings from the removal of petrol subsidy.

“If more money is coming in, why does the debt keep climbing? If Nigerians have sacrificed so much, where are the results?” he asked.

He said the government should demonstrate what previous borrowings had achieved before taking on additional debt.

“Show us the money already received. Show us what it built. Show us who benefited. Account for the debt already on Nigeria’s books before borrowing another dollar,” Atiku said.