Atiku Abubakar's 2011 Economic Strategy Proposal

In the 2011 general election, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, while campaigning for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential ticket, proposed a significant economic strategy. He pledged that if elected president, he would finance recurrent expenditure entirely with non-oil revenue, dedicating all oil revenue to investments in infrastructure, security, education, and health.

Atiku stated that oil revenue is volatile and exhaustible, advocating for a responsible use of these funds to build future capacity. He encouraged state governments to set timelines to reduce dependence on oil revenue for recurrent expenditures, citing historical examples of regional governments that developed without oil revenue.

Following the elections, Atiku's ideas did not gain the expected traction in media or political discourse. After returning to Nigeria in June 2011, he noted that his initial writings on this topic were perceived as launching a 2015 presidential campaign for him, leading to the discontinuation of his series on the subject.