Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has said President Bola Tinubu’s fresh request to borrow $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion validates the warning he issued on October 12.

Atiku, in a statement on Monday through his Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said he had warned Nigerians that the President was preparing to borrow up to $20 billion in connection with the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and had asked the Presidency to confirm or deny the plan.

According to him, President Tinubu’s letter to the Senate seeking approval for $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion external loans has vindicated that warning.

“On October 12, I warned Nigerians that President Tinubu was reportedly preparing to borrow up to $20 billion in connection with the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway. I demanded that he confirm or deny the plan and publish the accounts. He did neither. Today, he has asked the Senate to approve $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion in external loans. My warning has been vindicated,” Atiku said.

The former Vice President expressed concern that the Presidency listed broad sectors without providing project-by-project details, costs, locations and contractors for public scrutiny.

He said the development is particularly troubling given that the Coastal Highway has been rerouted inland, raising questions about transparency.

“The President has listed broad sectors but has not provided Nigerians with a project by project account of what this enormous borrowing will fund. That silence is especially troubling when the Coastal Highway has been rerouted inland,” the statement added.

Atiku questioned how the President could seek such huge borrowing barely 12 weeks before an election without identifying specific projects and costs, and called on the National Assembly not to approve the request until full details are made public.

“The National Assembly must not approve a single dollar until the President publishes every project, contract, cost, contractor, loan term and repayment obligation. No public money should be borrowed in the dark,” he said.

He urged lawmakers to make the proposal and its supporting documents public and subject them to rigorous scrutiny.