Presidential aide dismisses Atiku’s N7.98tn oil windfall claim, backs Tinubu’s reforms
Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga said former VP Atiku Abubakar’s claim of a N7.98 trillion oil windfall is false, arguing it ignored lower crude output, production costs, existing contracts and forward contracts that hedge price swings. He noted Brent crude averaged about $90 per barrel in H1 2026 versus the $64.85 benchmark, while average daily output was about 1.6 million barrels against a forecast of 1.84 million, offsetting the price gain. Onyegbula defended the administration’s borrowing and fuel subsidy removal, saying debt‑to‑GDP stays below 40% and debt‑service‑to‑revenue has fallen from nearly 100% in December 2022 to under 60%. He added that removing the fuel subsidy boosted federally allocated revenue to states and local governments, creating fiscal space for infrastructure and social programmes. He said the economy has rebounded from a 2024 dollar‑denominated GDP of about $253 billion to roughly $377 billion now, a 49% rise, while naira‑denominated GDP rose from N314 trillion in 2024 to around N530 trillion. Analysts estimate ending the fuel subsidy saves the government N4‑6 trillion yearly, and the Debt Management Office shows total public debt rose from N87.38 trillion in June 2023 to N159.28 trillion by end‑2025, with external debt up from $42.49 billion to $51.86 billion and domestic debt from N59.1 trillion to N89.4 trillion in the same period. The presidency says it will soon publish a detailed breakdown of subsidy savings and their use will be released soon.