Atiku rejects Nigeria’s $7.7 billion loan
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Daily Trust
Atiku Abubakar opposes the $7.7 billion loan requested by Bola Tinubu to partly finance Nigeria’s 2026 budget deficit. The former vice-president is calling on the Senate to examine the projects financed, the interest and repayment terms, according to Daily Trust.
Former Nigerian vice-president Atiku Abubakar has rejected President Bola Tinubu’s request to the Senate to authorise a $7.7 billion foreign loan, equivalent to about 10,790 billion naira, intended to finance part of the 2026 budget deficit. He called on senators to examine the proposal before any vote, in a statement made public by Phrank Shaibu, director of strategic communications for the ADC presidential campaign council, Daily Trust reports.
Atiku is calling in particular for the publication of the list of projects to be financed, their cost, the loan conditions and a credible repayment timetable. He believes that the final terms, which are to depend on market conditions when the funds are raised, do not allow Parliament to issue a “blank cheque”. His reaction came a few days after another borrowing proposal for $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion was presented to Parliament, according to Daily Trust.
The contested request was presented by Bola Tinubu to the Nigerian Parliament on 4 November 2026. Atiku had already criticised the president’s economic management, particularly on electricity, in a statement published on 1 November.
