“Borrowing Like Drunken Sailors”: Atiku Blasts Tinubu

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Federal Government of reckless borrowing despite a windfall in oil revenue, saying the administration of President Bola Tinubu borrowed N24.7 trillion domestically between January and August 2026, a 90.5 per cent increase over the same period in 2025, even as crude oil prices soared well above the budget benchmark.

A Scathing Indictment of Fiscal Policy

ValidViewNetwork gathered that former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has launched a blistering attack on the Federal Government’s borrowing practices, accusing the Tinubu administration of reckless fiscal indiscipline despite a significant windfall in oil revenue.

In a statement issued on Monday, September 7, 2026, by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said it was troubling that the government would borrow N24.7 trillion domestically between January and August 2026 even as it enjoys higher earnings from crude sales.

The Numbers That Tell the Story

The former vice president provided a detailed breakdown of the government’s borrowing trajectory:

· ₦24.7 trillion borrowed domestically between January and August 2026

· 90.5% increase over the ₦12.98 trillion borrowed in the same period of 2025

· Crude oil benchmark of $64.85 per barrel in the 2026 budget, now substantially exceeded

· 43% growth in credit to government, compared to only 9.6% growth in credit to the private sector

“At the beginning of this fiscal year, the Federal Government budgeted on an oil benchmark of $64.85 per barrel. Today, crude oil prices have risen substantially above that benchmark,” Atiku said. “Yet, instead of this windfall translating into lower borrowing, stronger businesses and relief for Nigerians, the Federal Government went into the domestic market and borrowed a staggering ₦24.7 trillion” .

The Drunken Sailor Metaphor

Atiku’s most devastating line came when he described the government’s fiscal behaviour:

“This is not fiscal management. This is a government borrowing like drunken sailors in the middle of a revenue windfall” .

The metaphor, suggesting reckless, undisciplined spending without regard for consequences, is designed to paint a picture of an administration that has lost all sense of fiscal restraint.

Crowding Out the Private Sector

Atiku argued that the government’s voracious appetite for borrowing was having a damaging effect on the private sector.

He noted that government credit was expanding 4.5 times faster than credit to businesses, effectively starving productive enterprises of the capital they need to grow.

“The public sector is exerting an increasingly parasitic effect on the private sector, consuming the credit, capital and financial oxygen that productive businesses desperately need,” he said.

He warned that the pattern of government borrowing at attractive, risk-free rates left commercial banks with little incentive to extend affordable credit to manufacturers, farmers and entrepreneurs.

“The result is obvious: businesses pay more for credit, expansion is postponed, factories struggle, jobs disappear and the cost of producing everything from food to household goods rises,” Atiku said.

The Question Nigerians Must Ask

Atiku concluded with a pointed question:

“So the question Nigerians must ask again is very simple: where is the money going?”.

He added: “This government is not merely borrowing money; it is borrowing away the future of Nigerian businesses” .

A Lesson for Nigerian Youths

Atiku’s critique cuts to the heart of a fundamental question: when the government borrows at an unprecedented rate despite a revenue windfall, where is the money going?

The same politicians who preside over this fiscal recklessness will never allow their own children to be burdened by the debts they are accumulating. Their families are protected.

For young Nigerians, the lesson is clear: fiscal discipline matters.

When the government borrows at 90% above the previous year’s rate, it is not just numbers on a spreadsheet, it is money that could have built schools, hospitals and roads.

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The same leaders who borrow today will leave the debt for tomorrow’s generation to repay. Demand accountability. Question where the money goes. And never forget that the debts of today are the taxes of tomorrow.