Tinubu ‘lying with statistics’ over economy - Atiku - Kemi Filani News
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has hit out at the President Bola Tinubu administration over its management of the economy. Atiku claimed that “no amount of. . .
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has hit out at the President Bola Tinubu administration over its management of the economy. Atiku claimed that “no amount of lying with statistics” can shield the federal government from what he described as its worsening economic record. He accused the administration of attempting to rewrite Nigeria’s economic realities through what he called “creative accounting” and polished public presentations, maintaining that the daily hardship confronting Nigerians tells a completely different story. In a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president dismissed recent comments by the Minister of Defence, Taiwo Oyedele, who had defended the administration’s economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidy, debt management strategy and workers’ welfare initiatives. According to Atiku, the government’s explanation that savings from the removal of fuel subsidy are being deployed to reduce inherited liabilities is inconsistent with publicly available financial records. He argued that rather than reducing indebtedness to the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Tinubu administration had significantly expanded it. “As of May 2023, when President Tinubu assumed office, the Federal Government’s exposure to the Central Bank of Nigeria stood at approximately ₦26. 9tn. Today, that exposure has ballooned to over ₦40. 38tn. “This administration has not reduced its indebtedness to the CBN. It has merely changed the label on the debt by converting Ways and Means advances into treasury bills and bonds while simultaneously piling up fresh obligations. That is debt restructuring—not debt repayment,” the statement partly read. Citing recent figures disclosed by CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso, Atiku said government borrowing from the apex bank increased by ₦17. 39tn between May 2025 and May 2026, representing a 77. 6 per cent rise.