Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of mortgaging Nigeria’s future crude oil earnings through undisclosed financing arrangements, demanding full disclosure of the terms of the deals.

Atiku, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the Presidency’s recent defence of the administration’s economic policies had raised more questions than it answered.

In a statement on Monday, Shaibu argued that the Presidency had inadvertently confirmed concerns that significant volumes of Nigeria’s crude oil had already been committed under crude-backed financing arrangements, limiting the country’s ability to fully benefit from higher international oil prices.

“In attempting to rebut our position, the Presidency inadvertently strengthened it,” the statement said.

Atiku described the alleged admission as an indictment rather than a defence, arguing that if future oil revenues had already been encumbered, the administration may have simply replaced one fiscal burden with another.

The ADC presidential candidate subsequently challenged the Federal Government to provide Nigerians with details of the transactions, including who authorised the arrangements, the volume of crude pledged and the repayment terms attached to the deals.

He also demanded disclosure of the amount of revenue received so far, the projects financed with the proceeds and the identities of the counterparties involved in the transactions.

“These are not political questions; they are constitutional questions about transparency and accountability,” Atiku said.

The former Vice President also questioned the relationship between the crude-backed financing arrangements and the Federal Government’s justification for removing the petrol subsidy.

According to him, the Presidency cannot simultaneously present the subsidy removal as a major fiscal achievement while attributing reduced oil revenue availability to obligations arising from subsidy financing.
“That contradiction speaks louder than any press statement,” he said.

Atiku maintained that transparency should be the ultimate measure of fiscal responsibility, insisting that Nigerians deserve to know the extent to which the country’s future crude oil revenues have been committed.
He further argued that the Federal Government should disclose the details of the financing arrangements if it expects Nigerians to accept its claims of prudent economic management.

The demand comes amid continuing debate over the management of Nigeria’s oil revenues, government borrowing and the economic consequences of the administration’s major fiscal reforms.