By Adedapo Adesanya

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s continued reliance on domestic borrowing, despite the windfall reportedly made when oil prices surged following the US-Iran war.

Mr Abubakar, in a statement issued on Monday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr Phrank Shaibu, described the federal government’s fiscal approach as inconsistent, lacking transparency and failing to demonstrate prudent financial management.

He questioned the rationale behind accumulating fresh debt despite what he described as a significant revenue boost from high global crude oil prices.

Mr Abubakar claimed that the Mr Tinubu-led administration has raised approximately N5 trillion from the domestic bond market during the first half of 2026, representing nearly 80 per cent of the amount borrowed within the same period in 2025.

This is even as he argued that such borrowing would ordinarily be justified only if government revenues had fallen sharply.

“The exact opposite is the case,” he said.

He noted that the 2026 national budget was based on a crude oil benchmark of $64.84 per barrel, while Brent crude averaged about $92 per barrel between March 1 and July 14. He added that Nigerian crude traditionally sells at a premium above Brent prices.

The former vice president said the difference between the budget benchmark and prevailing market prices translated into substantial additional revenue for the country.

“This naturally raises two unavoidable questions. First, why is a government enjoying such an extraordinary oil windfall borrowing at almost twice last year’s pace as though the nation were in financial distress? Second, where is the money?” he queried.

He estimated that the price differential generated an additional $27.15 per barrel, amounting to roughly $42.7 million in extra daily earnings based on an average production of 1.5 million barrels per day.

Over 135 days, Mr Abubakar said the excess revenue amounted to approximately $5.76 billion, equivalent to about N7.98 trillion.

He recalled that previous administrations maintained formal structures, including the Sovereign Wealth Fund and other fiscal buffers, to manage excess crude earnings and ensure accountability.

The ADC presidential candidate also expressed concern that despite increased oil revenues and the removal of fuel subsidy, many Nigerians continue to experience worsening economic hardship.

He cited recent United Nations findings indicating that nearly 80 per cent of Nigerians are unable to afford a decent daily meal, while infrastructure deficits persist despite government assurances that subsidy savings would be invested in critical sectors such as healthcare, education and road infrastructure.

The former VP said an ADC-led administration would adopt a rules-based fiscal framework to ensure transparency in the management of revenues earned above the budget oil benchmark.

He said surplus earnings would be channelled towards reducing public debt, strengthening fiscal reserves and financing investments in infrastructure, education, healthcare and agriculture.

“Nigerians deserve answers. They deserve accountability. Above all, they deserve a government that manages national wealth in the public interest, not one that presides over unprecedented opacity while asking future generations to repay debts incurred in the midst of plenty,” he said.

Mr Abubakar also argued that the Tinubu administration had recently embraced a power sector strategy he first advocated more than two decades ago.

He said comments by the Minister of Power acknowledging that Nigeria could no longer rely solely on large, centralised power plants amounted to an endorsement of his long-standing position on decentralised electricity generation.

“It should not take a government three years in office to discover what was obvious more than two decades ago,” Atiku said.

He criticised the administration for increasing electricity tariffs before implementing reforms capable of improving power supply.

“A government that thinks before it acts would have fixed the system before asking citizens to pay more. Unfortunately, this administration has done the exact opposite, raising tariffs first and only now beginning to think about the reforms required to justify those increases,” he said.

The politician recalled that while serving under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, he consistently advocated decentralising electricity generation by harnessing multiple energy sources, including hydroelectric power, natural gas and solar energy.

“This has been my position for over two decades. When President Obasanjo established the Power Sector Reform Committee based primarily on gas-fired generation, I was appointed chairman.

“However, because I fundamentally disagreed with the policy direction, I declined to preside over the committee. I believed then, as I do now, that Nigeria’s electricity future lay in a diversified and decentralised energy mix, not an overdependence on a single source.”

“Nigeria does not suffer from a shortage of ideas. It suffers from a shortage of leaders willing to act on the right ideas at the right time.

“It is never too late to embrace the right policy, but Nigerians should never have had to pay the price for a government that spent three years learning what should have guided its actions from day one,” he added.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Millions of electricity consumers across Nigeria will not face higher power bills for now, as the federal government has assured citizens that there are no immediate plans to increase electricity tariffs, dismissing reports of an impending hike across different service bands.

The Special Adviser to the President on Power Infrastructure, Mr Sadiq Wanka, made the disclosure amid growing public concern over the cost of electricity and media reports of his recent remarks.

Mr Wanka said his comments had been taken out of context, stressing that the federal government remains committed to shielding vulnerable electricity consumers from additional financial pressure.

“There is no planned tariff hike for any grid consumer across any service band. The government remains committed to protecting vulnerable households through continued tariff support,” he stated.

According to Mr Wanka, the remarks that generated public debate were made during his presentation at the Asharami Square 3.0 conference held in Lagos on July 22, where discussions centred on investment opportunities in Nigeria’s electricity sector and ongoing reforms designed to attract private capital.

He explained that his presentation focused on how the federal government’s power sector reforms are creating new opportunities for investors across electricity generation, transmission and distribution, rather than announcing any immediate changes to electricity pricing.

“The Special Adviser’s comments were made during a presentation where he addressed investment opportunities in the power sector and how the Federal Government’s reform programme has opened new avenues for investors across the power value chain,” the statement published on his official X account noted.

Mr Wanka reiterated that the government’s long-term electricity pricing framework remains anchored on the National Integrated Electricity Policy (NIEP), which was completed in December 2024 and approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in May 2025.

He explained that the policy supports a gradual transition towards cost-reflective electricity tariffs, a process that has already been implemented for Band A customers, who receive a minimum of 20 hours of electricity supply daily.

However, he emphasised that the policy does not translate into an immediate tariff increase for other categories of electricity consumers.

“In that context, he reaffirmed the tariff policy direction set out in the National Integrated Electricity Policy a long-standing, publicly available policy of gradually transitioning to cost-reflective tariffs already implemented for Band A electricity consumers,” the statement added.

The presidential aide stressed that electricity subsidies would remain in place for consumers outside Band A, contrary to widespread speculation.

“For all other consumer bands, he was clear that there is no plan to remove subsidies. Rather, the Government is exploring how to deliver value and support more efficiently,” the statement said.

As part of that strategy, Mr Wanka highlighted the proposed Power Consumer Assistance Fund (PCAF), established under the Electricity Act 2023, describing it as a more transparent mechanism for delivering targeted subsidies to vulnerable electricity users.

According to him, the fund is expected to channel government support directly into consumers’ electricity accounts or through identity-linked payment platforms, ensuring that subsidies reach intended beneficiaries while improving accountability and boosting investor confidence in the power sector.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria is stepping up efforts to build a more reliable population database and strengthen its national identity system with the nationwide rollout of a digital birth and death registration platform, as the National Population Commission (NPC) seeks to address the country’s persistently low civil registration rates.

As part of the initiative, the commission has inaugurated 131 digital birth and death registration centres across Anambra State, marking the state’s transition to the electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (e-CRVS) system through the VitalReg platform.

Speaking in Awka, the state’s capital, over the weekend, during an event commemorating the 2026 World Population Day, the NPC Federal Commissioner representing Anambra State, Mr Chidi Ezeoke, said the digital platform would improve the country’s ability to capture vital demographic data needed for national planning, public service delivery and resource allocation.

According to him, estimates show that Nigeria records an average of five million births every year, but only about 57 per cent are officially registered. Death registration remains even lower, at below 20 per cent, leaving millions of births and deaths undocumented.

He noted that the absence of comprehensive civil registration has created significant gaps in demographic data, making it more difficult for governments to effectively plan for healthcare, education, infrastructure and other public services.

Mr Ezeoke said the VitalReg platform became operational nationwide on July 1, describing it as a landmark development in Nigeria’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system.

He explained that the digital platform would ensure every birth and death is captured electronically while providing faster registration services, round-the-clock online access, digital certificate issuance, improved data validation and enhanced security for the country’s civil registration database.

According to him, the system will also reduce paperwork and waiting time while serving as a foundational database that supports interoperability across Nigeria’s broader digital identity ecosystem.

The commissioner disclosed that the NPC has established 4,011 functional registration centres across the country’s 774 local government areas and plans to expand the network to about 8,000 centres nationwide.

In Anambra State, he said the 131 registration centres have been opened across the 21 local government headquarters and several communities, with additional centres already proposed.

Mr Ezeoke urged Nigerians to promptly register every birth and death, stressing that comprehensive civil registration is essential for producing accurate population statistics and supporting evidence-based policymaking.

He also highlighted the theme of the 2026 World Population Day, Realising the Hopes and Aspirations of Young People – Today and for the Future, calling for increased investment in education, healthcare, skills development and decent employment opportunities, alongside greater youth participation in governance.

On his part, the NPC State Director, Mr Obiakonwa Okagwu, appealed to the media to help raise public awareness about the importance of birth and death registration, urging residents to regard civil registration as a shared national responsibility.