BY AHMED AKANBI
Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has taken a swipe at President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, saying it has deepened poverty and hardship for Nigerians.
Atiku, who stated this on Thursday in an address to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary, said Nigerians have in the last three years been searching for the human face of a government that has only delivered unaffordable healthcare, school fees, food and electricity.
”Nigerians had spent the past three years looking for the human face of a government that has delivered deepening poverty, healthcare they cannot afford, school fees they struggle to pay, food beyond their reach, and electricity bills that consume what little they earn,” he said.
Atiku accused the administration of abandoning local contractors who executed government projects, leaving many trapped in debts.
”Local contractors who completed government projects remain unpaid. Many borrowed from banks to do the work and now face demands for repayment on money the government owes them. Some have lost their property; their representatives say some have died under the financial strain.
”Why do your friends get huge contracts while Nigerian contractors have to protest to be paid for work they have done already?” he said.
Atiku also queried the award of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway to Hitech Construction Company owned by the Chagoury Group, alleging lack of open tender.
”Chagoury’s longstanding relationship with you is public knowledge. Your government says it used restricted bidding. Then publish the invitations, the bids, the evaluations, the final contract, and every variation. Let Nigerians see how this enormous award was decided,” he demanded.
He further slammed the government’s handling of the national budget, saying Nigeria is now running overlapping budgets with little accountability.
”You have just signed an extension keeping the 2025 budget in operation until the last day of 2026. The 2026 budget exists alongside it, not being implemented. How many budgets must be open at once before you can tell the country what was funded, what was completed, and what remains unpaid?” he asked.
Atiku decried Nigeria’s rising debt, which he put at N166.79 trillion as of June 2026, while the government plans to borrow an additional $1.5 billion from the World Bank.
”Before you borrow another dollar in the people’s name, tell them what the money already borrowed has delivered. Name the projects, show what they cost, who benefited, and who was paid,” he said.