Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described the proposed Vienna-listed bond arrangement as another disturbing sign of a government that keeps expanding its appetite for borrowing while refusing to give Nigerians a clear account of what has happened to record revenues, subsidy savings and the windfall from higher crude oil prices.

Mr Atiku said it was indefensible that, at a time when Nigerian factories were spending as much as half of their operating costs simply to keep the lights on, the Federal Government was again looking overseas for more financing without first explaining why vastly improved revenues failed to reduce its dependence on debt.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Mr Atiku said the contrast could hardly be more striking: manufacturers are battling diesel prices above ₦2,000 per litre, crippling power costs and expensive credit, while government borrowing continues to rise at home and new financing arrangements are being pursued abroad.

He said, “This is the central contradiction Nigerians are entitled to question. Government says revenues are up. It says subsidy removal has saved enormous sums. Oil prices are substantially above the benchmark used for the 2026 budget. Yet borrowing is accelerating, factories are suffocating under energy costs and ordinary Nigerians are still struggling to afford the basics.

“Before the Tinubu administration goes to Vienna in search of more money, it must first tell Nigerians what has happened to the money already coming in.”

The crisis confronting Nigerian manufacturers provides perhaps the clearest picture of what is wrong with the economy. Diesel has risen to about ₦2,000 per litre and above in some industrial locations, while the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria says energy-related expenses now consume more than half of manufacturers’ operating costs. Manufacturers spent about ₦1.34 trillion on alternative energy in 2025, yet expenditure in the first half of 2026 alone had already approached the same level.

Mr Atiku said, “Consider what that means for a factory in Lagos, Kano, Aba or Nnewi. Before the manufacturer pays workers, buys raw materials, transports finished products, services bank loans or makes a profit, a huge part of the operating budget has already disappeared into simply keeping the machines running.

“No economy can industrialise under those conditions. A manufacturer spending half of his operating costs on energy will eventually have to raise prices, cut production, lay off workers or close the factory. Whichever option he takes, ordinary Nigerians pay through higher prices, fewer jobs and reduced household income.

“Yet, at precisely this moment, the Federal Government is looking towards Vienna for another financing arrangement.

“We are told that ESME Limited, a special-purpose vehicle involving Nigerian public institutions and Austrian interests, is preparing to issue bonds on the Vienna market to finance investments in Nigeria. But Nigerians have not been given a sufficiently clear picture of the financial structure, the size of the proposed transaction, the cost of borrowing, the repayment terms or the extent of the Nigerian government’s exposure.

“That is where the problem of transparency becomes impossible to ignore. Nigerians are constantly told that revenues have increased, FAAC allocations have risen, enormous savings have been made from subsidy removal and oil earnings have improved. At the same time, government borrowing continues to grow at an extraordinary rate.

“In the first eight months of 2026 alone, Federal Government borrowing from the domestic market reportedly reached ₦24.7 trillion, compared with ₦12.98 trillion during the corresponding period of 2025. That is an enormous increase in government demand for capital at a time when Nigerian businesses are themselves desperately searching for affordable credit.

“The contradiction becomes even more difficult to explain when crude oil prices are considered. The 2026 budget was prepared on an oil benchmark of $64.85 per barrel, yet crude prices have moved substantially above that level. If oil earnings are exceeding projections, revenues are rising and the government has indeed saved the huge sums it claims from subsidy removal, why is the appetite for borrowing increasing rather than falling?

“The situation can be understood very simply. Imagine a family whose income has increased substantially, whose biggest monthly expense has supposedly been removed and which has also received an unexpected financial windfall. Yet the father continues borrowing from the cooperative, borrowing from the bank and now travels to Vienna to borrow again. Meanwhile, there is no electricity in the house, food is becoming more expensive and the children are struggling. At some point, every member of that family will ask the same question: where is all the money going?

“That is the question Nigerians are asking today.

“If government revenues have increased, if crude oil prices are above budget projections, if subsidy savings are as large as the administration claims and if allocations to the different tiers of government have risen, then Nigerians deserve a transparent reconciliation showing what has been earned, what has been spent, what has been borrowed and why additional debt continues to be necessary.

“The Vienna transaction therefore cannot be treated as an obscure technical arrangement known only to officials, bankers and financial advisers. Nigerians must know how much is to be raised, in what currency, at what interest rate, for what tenure and through what repayment mechanism. They must also know whether the Federal Government is providing any sovereign guarantee, undertaking any contingent liability or otherwise exposing public finances to obligations that may ultimately fall on taxpayers.

The Tinubu administration has distinguished itself by an alarming recklessness in the management of Nigeria’s public finances, compounded by a disturbing absence of transparency in the reporting of revenues, debt obligations and refinancing arrangements.

Despite repeated demands from credible fiscal watchdogs, civil society and the political opposition for a clear and comprehensive account of the government’s expanding layers of borrowing, refinancing and contingent liabilities, the administration has largely responded with silence and opacity.

“That silence is unacceptable. A government that continually asks Nigerians to tighten their belts, endure higher prices and make painful sacrifices cannot, at the same time, refuse to open its own books. Sacrifice without transparency is not leadership; it is an abuse of public trust. Nigerians cannot be asked to carry the burden of economic hardship while being denied a clear account of how their money is being managed and what debts are being accumulated in their name.

“This demand for openness is particularly important because the consequences of excessive borrowing are already being transmitted to the real economy. When government absorbs enormous amounts of capital from the domestic financial market, manufacturers, farmers and small businesses are forced to compete with the state for increasingly expensive funds.

“The same businesses are simultaneously being forced to generate their own electricity, absorb rising logistics costs and sell to consumers whose purchasing power has been badly weakened. That combination is economically destructive.

“A government cannot continue boasting about rising revenues while factories spend half their operating costs on power. It cannot celebrate subsidy savings while households struggle to afford food and transportation. And it cannot benefit from an oil-price windfall while simultaneously increasing domestic borrowing and searching overseas for additional financing without explaining the arithmetic.

“This is why transparency is no longer optional. Nigerians should not require forensic accountants to collect fragments from different ministries, agencies and financial statements before understanding the condition of their own country’s finances. There should be a clear public trail from revenue to expenditure, from borrowing to projects, from guarantees to liabilities and from higher oil earnings to the public accounts.

“The Federal Government must therefore publish the full architecture of the Vienna transaction and provide Nigerians with a comprehensive reconciliation of its increased revenues, claimed subsidy savings, additional oil receipts and rapidly expanding debt obligations.

“Bola Tinubu must open the books. Nigerians deserve to know what has been earned, what has been borrowed, what has been spent, what has been guaranteed and what obligations are being created in their name.

“The question is no longer complicated: if more money is coming in and even more money is being borrowed, where is the money, and where is the paper trail?”

Signed:
Phrank Shaibu
Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication
to Atiku Abubakar, Vice President of Nigeria 1999-2007 and Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress.
10th September, 2026