Amid worsening insecurity, African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential candidate for the 2027 general election, Atiku Abubakar, has said Nigerians now budget for ransom, the same way they budget for school fees.

Atiku, who decried the deplorable security situation in the country, accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of reckless borrowing, while Nigerians sink deeper into hunger, fear and despair.

The former Vice President, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said it was particularly shameful that government officials continue to speak casually about debt while insecurity has reached alarming levels.

According to him, “Across the country, farmers can no longer safely access their farmlands because vast territories have effectively fallen under the control of armed gangs and terrorists. Food production has declined sharply because rural communities now live under constant threat of attacks, abductions and killings.

“The inevitable result is what Nigerians are currently witnessing, astronomical food prices, widespread hunger, malnutrition and rising anger among citizens abandoned by their own government.”

Atiku added ”in many parts of Nigeria today, travelling by road has become a gamble with death. Families go to bed praying not to receive midnight calls announcing the abduction of loved ones.

“Villages are sacked almost routinely while those in power appear more concerned about image management than decisive action. What exactly are Nigerians benefiting from all these loans if insecurity continues to spread and the economy continues to suffocate?”

Furthermore, the ADC candidate, who accused the government of deploying propaganda to distract Nigerians from the consequences of alleged mismanagement of the economy, said no amount of media spin can conceal the frustration in the country.

“It is both astonishing and insulting that at a time when millions of Nigerians can barely afford one meal a day, when parents are withdrawing children from school because of crushing hardship, when businesses are collapsing under unbearable electricity tariffs and inflation, and when entire communities are being overrun by terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers, the Presidency is celebrating debt figures as though indebtedness itself were an economic achievement.

“No nation becomes prosperous by borrowing to finance consumption, sustain wasteful government lifestyles, and paper over policy failures. Countries that borrow responsibly do so to expand productivity, create jobs, secure critical infrastructure, and improve the welfare of their citizens. In Nigeria today, however, citizens see no correlation between the mounting debt profile and improvement in their daily lives,” he stated.

Atiku added that “Nigerians do not care about statistical gymnastics from government spokespersons. They care about whether food is affordable, whether their children are safe, whether businesses can survive, whether farmers can return to their lands, and whether the future still holds any promise. Sadly, under this administration, the answer to those questions is becoming increasingly bleak.” (The Sun)

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