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Samuel Ogidan
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 to settle debts in Nigeria’s power sector.
Atiku described the proposed ₦4 trillion bond as “a racket,” alleging that the Federal Government has repeatedly borrowed funds to address the same power sector liabilities without providing adequate explanations on how previous interventions were utilised.
In a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president said Nigerians have every reason to question what he termed a recurring cycle of borrowing, non-disclosure and failed promises.
According to Atiku, the government had in December 2025 announced a ₦590 billion power sector bond to clear debts owed to electricity generation companies and gas suppliers. He noted that a month later, authorities celebrated the full subscription of a ₦501 billion bond issued under the same programme, assuring Nigerians that the funds would settle verified obligations in the sector.
He further recalled that in April 2026, President Tinubu approved another ₦3.3 trillion intervention to address outstanding power sector debts, with government officials presenting the move as part of broader efforts to reform the electricity industry.
However, Atiku claimed that recent disclosures by power generation companies indicate that many of the debts remain unpaid despite the various borrowing programmes. He cited comments by the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Power Generation Companies, Joy Ogaji, who reportedly stated that obligations expected to be settled through earlier bond issuances remain unresolved.
“The facts are as disturbing as they are damning,” Atiku said, arguing that successive debt-clearing initiatives have failed to produce the promised results while creditors continue to await payment.
The former vice president also linked the controversy to President Tinubu’s June 12 Democracy Day address, in which the president highlighted a fresh debt-settlement initiative in the power sector as evidence of his administration’s reform agenda.
According to Atiku, the announcement raises serious questions about the fate of funds previously raised for the same purpose.
“A government cannot celebrate a new solution while refusing to explain the fate of the old one,” he said, insisting that accountability must accompany any new borrowing programme.
He alleged that the government’s approach has followed a troubling pattern of announcing a crisis, raising debt to address it, celebrating the intervention and then returning to seek fresh borrowing while the original problem remains unresolved.
Describing the trend as “a revolving door of debt and opacity,” Atiku warned that continued borrowing without transparency would deepen public distrust and further burden the country’s finances.
The ADC presidential candidate called on the Federal Government to publish a comprehensive account of all funds raised under power sector debt settlement programmes, including details of beneficiaries, payments made, outstanding obligations and reasons for seeking additional borrowing.
He maintained that Nigerians deserve full disclosure before any fresh bond issuance is approved.
“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,” Atiku stated.