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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that President Bola Tinubu must not be allowed to take out a fresh $7.7 billion loan, equivalent to ₦10.79 trillion.
Atiku, in a statement by the Director of Strategic Communication, ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, condemned President Tinubu’s request to the Senate to approve the $7.7 billion fresh loan.
The President, in a letter to the Senate, which was read at Wednesday’s plenary, requested approval for the loan to finance the 2026 budget deficit.
The ADC charged the Senate to scrutinise the loan request thoroughly and to demand the full list of projects the loan would be used to fund, as well as the repayment plan. He charged the parliament to remember that it is accountable to the Nigerian people.
“What is the problem with this government? Why is President Tinubu making borrowing requests on behalf of Nigeria week in, week out? Barely days after an external borrowing proposal of $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion was presented to the National Assembly, another request for $7.7 billion is now before the Senate. Nigerians cannot be expected to treat this relentless borrowing as routine paperwork.
“Every new foreign loan is a bill Nigerians will eventually have to pay. This government cannot keep presenting borrowing as a substitute for sound economic management while families and businesses carry the cost of its failures.
“The latest request raises urgent questions. Which specific projects will receive the money? How much will each project cost? What are the repayment schedule, interest rate and other conditions? The President’s own letter says the final terms will depend on market conditions when the borrowing is priced. Nigerians should not be asked to accept a loan before they know what it will cost the country.
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“The Senate must scrutinise this proposal line by line. It must demand a full project list, clear funding allocations, the proposed loan terms and a credible repayment plan before considering approval. No government should receive a blank cheque to contract foreign debt in the name of budget implementation,” Atiku stated.
Furthermore, the former Vice President noted that “with President Tinubu’s tenure approaching its end, he must not bind Nigerians and future administrations to fresh debt without full disclosure and rigorous scrutiny. We call on international agencies and lenders to stop extending new loans to this administration until it provides transparent terms, a credible repayment plan and clear evidence of how previous borrowings have benefited Nigerians.
“Tinubu removed subsidy on petroleum products but has emerged as the highest borrowing government in Nigeria’s record history. Conversely, this is one government that has unleashed the worst cost of living crisis on Nigerians where people struggle to afford a decent living and businesses are being forced to shut down.
“It is also the government with the record infrastructure investment deficit in Nigeria. So the question is: what is Tinubu using his loans to finance specifically?
“Nigerians are hungry and angry. Public infrastructure are limited; social welfare intervention is none existent. Yet Nigeria is owing massively under Tinubu.”
Atiku stated that he has a different plan to ensure that Nigeria does not continue in this slide into poverty and debt, noting that his plan “is to return social welfare to the Nigerian people through the introduction of production based subsidy on petroleum products.
“Nigeria cannot borrow its way out of every budget shortfall. The National Assembly must remember that it is accountable to Nigerians, not merely to the executive. Before approving another trillion-naira burden, it must make the government answer the questions Nigerians are asking.”
