Atiku: Local Businesses Suffocating as Foreign Investors Take Capital Out Under Tinubu

By Sabiu Abdullahi

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of worsening the operating environment for Nigerian businesses while foreign investors continue to withdraw capital from the country.

Atiku, who is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), made the allegation in a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

He cited data from the Nigerian Exchange, which showed that foreign investors invested ₦513.36 billion in the Nigerian equities market between January and July 2026 but withdrew ₦779.43 billion, resulting in a net capital outflow of ₦266.07 billion.

According to Atiku, foreign outflows exceeded inflows in every month within the period, with the net outflow about 11.7 times higher than the ₦22.68 billion recorded during the corresponding period of 2023.

“This is not merely an investment statistic. It is a confidence verdict on the Tinubu economy,” the statement read.

The former vice-president also criticised the Federal Government’s rising domestic borrowing, which he said increased by 90.5 per cent to ₦24.7 trillion within eight months.

He claimed that government credit had grown more than four times faster than credit available to the private sector.

“So, the picture is now painfully clear: Tinubu’s government is crowding Nigerian businesses out of the domestic credit market while foreign investors are taking their money and heading for the exit,” he said.

Atiku further listed rising food prices, transportation costs and business expenses among the challenges facing Nigerians.

“Local businesses are suffocating. Foreign capital is fleeing. Government borrowing is exploding. Food prices has skyrocketed. Transportation costs are crushing families.”

He accused the Tinubu administration of celebrating its economic reforms despite what he described as worsening economic hardship.

Atiku argued that an economy could not be considered to be recovering when businesses could not access affordable credit, manufacturers faced high operating costs, households experienced declining purchasing power and investors were reluctant to retain their funds in the country.

He said investors were assessing factors such as policy consistency, inflation, purchasing power, regulatory predictability and the prospect of earning sustainable returns.

“And their verdict is increasingly unmistakable: take the money and run,” he said.

The ADC presidential candidate called for policies that would rebuild investor confidence, reduce the cost of doing business and make energy and transportation more affordable while promoting local production.

He argued that the private sector, rather than increased government borrowing, should serve as the main driver of economic growth.

“That is the fundamental difference between Tinubu’s economics of government consumption and Atiku’s economics of private-sector production and household affordability,” he said.

Atiku added: “You cannot borrow the private sector dry, impoverish consumers and then advertise yourself to the world as an investment destination. The investors are already answering the propaganda. They are leaving.”