By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA: Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has rejected the defence of President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies by the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, describing it as a desperate attempt at revisionism.

In a statement on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the government’s claims on public debt, subsidy removal, debt servicing and workers’ welfare collapse under the weight of publicly available facts.

“Which salary increase is the government talking about? The Federal Government is yet to fully implement the new minimum wage. The 40 per cent peculiar allowance tied to the wage adjustment remains unpaid despite official directives that it should take effect from May 1, 2026,” he said, adding that “these are not opposition allegations; they are the grievances of organised labour.”

On the administration’s public debt profile, Atiku cited figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN, noting that the Federal Government’s exposure to the apex bank stood at approximately ₦26.9 trillion when President Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, and has since risen to over ₦40.38 trillion.

He said CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso had disclosed that the bank’s credit to the Federal Government rose from ₦22.99 trillion in May 2025 to ₦40.38 trillion in May 2026, an increase of ₦17.39 trillion, or 77.6 per cent, within one year.

“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,”…