‘Racket dressed up as reform’: Atiku tackles Tinubu over ₦4tn power sector debt plan

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of engaging in what he described as a “racket” over repeated borrowing to settle debts in Nigeria’s power sector, demanding a full account of funds previously raised before any new bond issuance is approved.

In a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku condemned the Federal Government’s latest plan to raise about ₦4 trillion through bonds to address liabilities in the electricity sector, describing the move as evidence of fiscal recklessness, lack of transparency and disregard for public accountability.

The former vice president argued that Nigerians have become victims of a recurring cycle in which the government repeatedly borrows to solve the same problem without providing details on how earlier interventions were utilised.

According to Mr Atiku, the Federal Government had on December 20, 2025, announced the issuance of a ₦590 billion power sector bond to settle debts owed to electricity generation companies and gas suppliers.

He noted that the government later disclosed that a ₦501 billion bond under the same programme had achieved full subscription and was expected to clear verified obligations within the sector.

He further recalled that in April 2026, President Tinubu approved another ₦3.3 trillion debt settlement plan for the power sector, with government officials presenting the intervention as part of efforts to resolve the industry’s persistent liquidity crisis.

However, Mr Atiku alleged that despite the repeated borrowing initiatives, the debts remain largely unsettled.

He cited disclosures by the Association of Power Generation Companies, which reportedly indicated that outstanding obligations were yet to be fully paid.

He also referenced comments attributed to the association’s Chief Executive Officer, Joy Ogaji, who allegedly stated that the ₦501 billion bond raised to settle part of the debt had not resolved the outstanding liabilities.

“In simple terms, billions were raised, subscriptions were celebrated, announcements were made, and victory was declared, but the creditors are still waiting for payment,” Mr Atiku said.

The former vice president also linked the issue to President Tinubu’s Democracy Day address on June 12, during which the president highlighted fresh efforts to address power sector debts as part of his administration’s reform agenda.

According to Mr Atiku, the announcement raised concerns because previous debt-clearing initiatives had yet to be fully explained to Nigerians.

“Democracy is not sustained by grand declarations; it is sustained by accountability. A government cannot celebrate a new solution while refusing to explain the fate of the old one,” he stated.

Mr Atiku questioned the whereabouts of funds already raised for debt settlement in the sector and accused the administration of failing to provide adequate explanations regarding their utilisation.

Employing traditional proverbs to illustrate his argument, the former vice president likened the recurring power sector debt interventions to a trader repeatedly returning to the marketplace with the same goat he had claimed to have sold.

He argued that the power sector debt appears to resurface every few months despite repeated assurances that it had been addressed through government interventions.

“There is a name for repeatedly collecting money to solve the same problem while the problem remains unsolved. It is called a racket,” he declared.

Mr Atiku further alleged that a pattern had emerged in which government officials announce a crisis, raise funds to address it, celebrate the intervention, and later unveil another borrowing programme for the same purpose without accounting for previous expenditures.

According to him, such a cycle undermines public confidence and raises questions about transparency in the management of public finances.

He lamented the continued challenges facing businesses and households due to inadequate electricity supply, noting that manufacturers, small businesses and families continue to bear high energy costs despite repeated interventions running into trillions of naira.

“The only thing that appears to grow consistently is the size of the debt and the frequency of borrowing,” he said.

The former vice president called on President Tinubu to provide a comprehensive breakdown of all funds raised under various power sector debt settlement programmes.

He demanded details on the amounts raised, where the funds were kept, beneficiaries of payments, debts settled, outstanding liabilities and the reasons new borrowing has become necessary despite previous assurances.

Mr Atiku warned that failure to provide full disclosure would reinforce public suspicions that the power sector was being used for financial manipulation rather than genuine reform.

He maintained that no responsible government should continue to accumulate debt to settle liabilities it had previously claimed to have resolved, insisting that Nigerians deserve clear answers before any fresh bond issuance is approved.