Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, has renewed his criticism of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over Nigeria’s escalating energy costs. Through his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president said expensive diesel was forcing factories to suspend operations.
Quick facts
- Atiku says some Nigerian manufacturers devote up to half of their operating budgets to energy.
- He objects to a proposed bond transaction listed in Vienna.
- He questioned the use of higher revenues, subsidy savings and stronger crude prices.
- He warned that energy costs could bring price increases, job losses and factory closures.
Atiku said the government should be prioritising lower power and fuel costs rather than pursuing another overseas financing deal. He described the Vienna-listed bond plan as evidence of an administration seeking more debt while failing to explain how record receipts, savings from subsidy abolition and increased oil income have been used.
He argued that fresh borrowing was difficult to justify when Nigerian factories can spend as much as 50% of their operating costs on keeping electricity and machinery running. In his view, the government should account for why stronger revenues have not reduced its reliance on debt before seeking additional funds abroad.
Atiku said the situation raised a basic question for Nigerians: government income is reportedly increasing, subsidy reform has generated substantial savings and crude prices are well above the assumption underpinning the 2026 budget, yet borrowing is speeding up. At the same time, businesses are being squeezed by energy bills and households are struggling to pay for essentials.
He said the administration should disclose how existing inflows have been spent before travelling to Vienna to raise more money. The issue, he argued, is not merely a financing decision but a test of fiscal transparency.
For a manufacturer in Lagos, Kano, Aba or Nnewi, the cost burden arrives before wages, raw materials, distribution, debt servicing or profit are accounted for, Atiku said. A large share of the budget is consumed simply by powering production equipment.
He warned that industrial development cannot proceed on that basis. Companies allocating half their expenditure to energy will ultimately be forced to increase prices, reduce output, dismiss employees or shut down entirely.
Each of those responses would affect the public, he said, through more expensive goods, fewer employment opportunities and lower household earnings. Atiku added that the Vienna financing plan should not be presented as a technical matter reserved for government officials, banks and financial advisers.
