Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of fiscal recklessness and lack of transparency over plans to raise another multi-trillion naira bond for Nigeria’s troubled power sector.
Atiku described the proposed ₦4 trillion power sector bond as “a racket,” alleging that successive borrowing under the current administration has failed to clear longstanding debts owed to electricity generation companies and gas suppliers, despite repeated assurances.
In a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Nigerians were being subjected to a cycle of borrowing without accountability or clear results.
He recalled that in December 2025, the Federal Government announced a ₦590 billion power sector bond to settle verified obligations in the electricity value chain, followed by the issuance of a ₦501 billion bond under the same framework.
Atiku further noted that in April 2026, President Tinubu approved another ₦3.3 trillion intervention to address outstanding debts in the sector, presenting it as part of reforms aimed at stabilising power supply.
However, he alleged that despite these interventions, power generation companies are still being owed, citing remarks attributed to the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Power Generation Companies, Joy Ogaji, who reportedly said earlier approved funds had not fully addressed the debts.
“The facts are as disturbing as they are damning,” Atiku said, insisting that the repeated borrowing raises serious concerns about transparency and fiscal responsibility.
He also referenced President Tinubu’s Democracy Day address on June 12, 2026, where the President highlighted fresh interventions in the power sector, questioning what became of earlier funds raised for the same purpose.
“A government cannot celebrate a new solution while refusing to explain the fate of the old one,” Atiku said.
According to him, the pattern of announcing debt crises, raising bonds, celebrating approvals and later seeking fresh funds without clear settlement of prior obligations reflects a “revolving door of debt and opacity.”
He warned that continued reliance on opaque borrowing practices would worsen Nigeria’s fiscal burden and erode public trust in government financial management.
Atiku called on the Federal Government to publish a detailed breakdown of all power sector debt settlement funds, including beneficiaries, payments made, outstanding liabilities, and justification for additional borrowing.
He maintained that transparency was non-negotiable before any new bond issuance could be justified.
“Until those answers are provided, this entire exercise will remain what it increasingly appears to be: a racket dressed up as reform and a scandal searching desperately for a cover story,” he stated.
