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| Photo Credit — Atiku Abubakar |
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has called for a detailed public reconciliation of Nigeria’s public debt stock after the Debt Management Office (DMO) reported that the country’s total public debt reached ₦166.79 trillion as of 30 June 2026.
The DMO released the figures on 25 September 2026. They show domestic debt at ₦91.59 trillion and external debt at ₦75.20 trillion. The external component was converted using the official exchange rate of approximately ₦1,379.18 to the US dollar.
Atiku’s statement, issued on Saturday by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communications of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council, contrasts the latest total with the ₦49.85 trillion recorded in March 2023, before the current administration took office.
What Atiku is asking for
Atiku requested a clear breakdown that separates:
• Inherited obligations that may have been newly recorded or securitised
• The impact of exchange-rate movements on the naira value of external debt
• Genuinely new borrowing contracted since May 2023
• The treatment of the ₦22.71 trillion in Ways and Means advances that were securitised and added to the debt stock from June 2023 onwards
He also focused on Federal Government Treasury Bills, which the DMO put at ₦19.48 trillion outstanding as of 30 June 2026. Atiku argued that a mid-year snapshot does not fully explain the position and called for a transparent account of which bills have matured, been redeemed, rolled over, or represent fresh borrowing.
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On the external debt-service side, he questioned ₦39.25 million (approximately $39.25 million) listed as “other charges” in the DMO’s second-quarter 2026 report. This included $22.5 million related to a First Abu Dhabi Bank Total Return Swap and $8.97 million linked to Deutsche Bank AG. The report showed no principal or interest payment against the First Abu Dhabi Bank instrument in that quarter.
Atiku asked for the underlying agreement, the original facility size, amounts drawn, and remaining obligations.
“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,” the statement quoted him as saying. He added that the government should “identify the old debt newly recorded, the foreign debt whose naira value rose with the exchange rate, and every new loan contracted since he assumed office.”
Wider fiscal context
The demands come against the backdrop of the 2026 federal budget, which projects expenditure of about ₦68.32 trillion against revenue of ₦36.87 trillion, leaving a deficit of roughly ₦31.45 trillion that is expected to be financed partly through borrowing.
President Bola Tinubu has himself highlighted debt-service pressures. At the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi in May, he noted that Nigeria expected to spend about $11.6 billion on debt service in 2026—nearly half of projected revenue.
Atiku also referenced the International Monetary Fund’s June 2026 Article IV assessment. The IMF acknowledged improved macroeconomic outcomes after recent reforms but estimated poverty at 63 per cent under the national poverty line and said 27 million Nigerians faced food insecurity in the latter part of 2025. It warned that higher fuel and food prices could worsen these pressures.
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Hardship and the call for an apology
Beyond the numbers, Atiku argued that rising debt-service costs limit resources available for public services and development. He described a growing gap between official claims of higher revenues and the everyday experience of many households facing elevated costs for food, fuel, transport, electricity, education and housing.
He called on President Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress to apologise for the hardship associated with the removal of the petrol subsidy and other economic reforms introduced in 2023.
“Nigerians were asked to sacrifice. Fuel subsidy was removed. The naira was allowed to depreciate sharply. Electricity and transportation costs rose.
Government revenues increased, yet borrowing continued,” the statement said. “After all of this, the Nigerian people are entitled to ask one simple question: what exactly did our sacrifice buy?”
Atiku concluded by urging the Federal Government to reconcile the borrowing figures, explain the debt-service charges, disclose how borrowed funds have been used, and apologise for the hardship.
Notes on the figures
Public debt totals expressed in naira can rise for several reasons: new loans, the conversion of previously off-budget items (such as Ways and Means), and exchange-rate movements that increase the local-currency value of external obligations. A full reconciliation of the kind Atiku has requested would help clarify how much of the increase from 2023 to mid-2026 falls into each category. Official DMO publications remain the primary source for the stock and service data cited above.
This report is based on the DMO’s latest public debt figures, the ADC campaign statement, publicly reported remarks by President Tinubu, and the IMF’s June 2026 assessment. Readers are encouraged to consult the original documents for full details.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers news, politics, current affairs, education, and technology.
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