Admit your policies are failing — Atiku tells Tinubu

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has urged President Bola Tinubu to abandon media spin and acknowledge that his administration’s economic policies are failing Nigerians.

Reacting to recent statements by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, on how the government utilized subsidy proceeds, Atiku characterized the administration’s claims of economic progress as a desperate attempt at revisionism that crumbles when tested against public facts.

In a statement issued on Sunday through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku challenged the administration’s claims regarding worker welfare, noting that the Federal Government has failed to fully implement the new minimum wage.

He pointed out that the promised 40 percent peculiar allowance remains unpaid despite official directives mandating its commencement in May 2026, echoing the growing grievances of organized labor.

The former Vice President also argued that the administration’s narrative on public debt, pointing to official Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) figures showing that federal exposure to the apex bank surged from ₦26.9 trillion at the start of Tinubu’s term to over ₦40.38 trillion.

Citing the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, he emphasized that credit to the government jumped by 77.6 percent in a single year between May 2025 and May 2026.

Atiku argued that converting Ways and Means advances into Treasury Bills and bonds while accumulating fresh obligations represents debt restructuring rather than debt repayment.

The former VP further questioned the origin of funding for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

While the administration claims subsidy savings are financing the scheme, he recalled public disclosures from NELFUND’s Chief Executive Officer indicating the project was injected with ₦50 billion in funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Dismissing attempts to blame soaring debt service costs strictly on high interest rates, Atiku argued that the government’s reckless borrowing habits under current Monetary Policy Rate regimes have crowded out productive businesses.

He stressed that soaring food prices, record inflation, widespread business closures, escalating unemployment, naira depreciation, and deepening poverty are the undeniable daily realities facing citizens realities that no government presentation can hide.