Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said the large-scale withdrawal of foreign portfolio funds from Nigeria represents another severe vote of no confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s handling of the economy.
Quick facts
- Reported net foreign portfolio outflow: N266.07 billion
- July 2026 equity inflows: N13.36 billion
- July 2026 equity outflows: N779.43 billion
- Domestic borrowing rose 90.5% to N24.7 trillion in eight months
In a statement issued by his media team on Tuesday, Atiku said the N266 billion net withdrawal pointed to a deepening confidence problem surrounding Nigeria’s economy under Tinubu.
He said the latest Nigerian Exchange figures should concern Nigerians because investors respond to economic conditions rather than official messaging about performance.
Atiku, citing the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics, said foreign investors put N13.36 billion into Nigerian equities in July 2026 but withdrew N779.43 billion. He described the resulting N266.07 billion net outflow as staggering.
He added that foreign withdrawals were higher than inflows in every month covered by the figures. The cumulative net outflow, he said, was roughly 11.7 times the N22.68 billion recorded over the comparable period in 2023.
Atiku argued that the figures went beyond a routine investment measure, calling them a direct judgment on confidence in the Tinubu administration’s economic policies.
Using an analogy, he compared the economy with a shop whose owners are short of cash, customers lack purchasing power and a landlord is repeatedly borrowing. The few outside investors who supplied money, he said, are taking it back, while only an irresponsible landlord would describe that situation as prosperity.
He further pointed to figures showing that the Federal Government increased domestic borrowing by 90.5% to N24.7 trillion within eight months. At the same time, lending to government expanded more than four times as quickly as credit extended to the private sector, he said.
