Atiku Abubakar Demands Accountability for ₦4.15 Trillion Refinery Debt

Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has demanded that President Bola Tinubu account for a ₦4.15 trillion increase in the obligations of Nigeria's refineries during 2024. Abubakar, the candidate for the African Democratic Congress and former vice president, alleges that the combined debts of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited rose from ₦4.52 trillion at the end of 2023 to ₦8.67 trillion by the end of 2024.

Abubakar characterized the current administration's tendency to blame former President Muhammadu Buhari for these failures as "political escapism." He noted that the Tinubu administration had previously claimed the Port Harcourt refinery was operating at 70 percent capacity in November 2024. Describing the expenditure as an "unforgivable failure of stewardship," Abubakar warned that Nigeria cannot afford another four-year term under the current administration.