Tinubu: You Are Mortgaging Nigeria’s Future Crude So That You Look Good Today — Bolaji Abdullahi

The National Publicity Secretary of ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of mortgaging Nigeria’s future crude oil resources through loan agreements, while presenting improvements in foreign reserves and exchange rate stability as economic achievements. Abdullahi made the allegations during an interview on Channels Television on Monday, October 12, 2026.

He argued that since Tinubu assumed office in 2023, the government had consistently defended the removal of the petrol subsidy as necessary, maintaining that there was no viable alternative to the policy. “Now since 2023, what we’ve seen this government doing is to, like you said, double down on what options are removal of subsidy and telling us there is no alternative to removal of subsidy,” Abdullahi said.

The ADC spokesperson said the government’s explanation for its position was becoming clearer as information emerged about agreements and financial arrangements involving Nigeria’s crude oil resources. “And I’m glad that you mentioned that the reason they are saying so is coming out now because we’ve seen that they’ve gone into all kind of agreements and all kind of deals,” he said.

He subsequently referred to agreements he identified as Project Gazelle and Project Leopard. “Now we know, we understand, we’re now beginning to understand what they have done. They have gone into all kind of Project Gazelle, Project Leopard and all kind of wild animals that they have done deals with in places like the Bahamas and all that,” Abdullahi said.

He argued that the government was using its financial commitments to justify its position that it could not provide crude oil for an intervention aimed at making petrol cheaper for Nigerians. “And when they do this, they say they are in a desperate situation. That’s why they did what they did, because that’s the reason they are telling us that there will be no crude oil to subsidize for making fuel cheaper to Nigerians,” he said.

Abdullahi questioned whether Nigerians had been adequately informed about the agreements. “But what we are saying is that when you were going into these deals, did Nigeria know you were entering into this deal, that you are mortgaging Nigerian crude up to 2030 to pay off this loan that you are taking under what terms Nigerians don’t know and under what interest rates Nigerians don’t know,” he said.

The ADC spokesperson further claimed that international financial institutions had raised concerns about the government’s approach to borrowing and the use of future crude oil resources to secure financing. “IMF is saying it is wrong for you to do that. African Development Bank is saying it’s wrong for you to do that. World Bank is saying it’s wrong for you to do that. And you kept taking this loan,” Abdullahi stated.

He described the alleged arrangements as a form of mortgaging the country’s future resources to achieve short-term economic gains. “It’s like mortgaging the future. You are desperate and you are going to international loan shacks and mortgaging Nigeria’s future crude so that you look good today,” he said.

Abdullahi argued that the government was presenting improvements in foreign reserves and exchange rate stability without adequately explaining the financial commitments behind them. “So you tell Nigerians, oh, you see, look at what we have done. Foreign reserve has gone up. We have stabilized the Naira,” he said.

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