As per the African Democratic Congress (ADC), President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has borrowed over 10 times as much in just two years as former President Muhammadu Buhari did in the same period.
It claimed that President Tinubu’s recent borrowing spree will push Nigeria’s national debt beyond N200 trillion by the year’s end and that there is no corresponding economic recovery or progress to support it.
Following the National Assembly’s acceptance of yet another $21 billion in foreign loans, the party protested what it calls “fiscal vandalism” by the Tinubu administration.
President Tinubu was accused by the ADC of surpassing his predecessor by mortgaging the nation’s future in mountains of debt in the guise of economic change, according to a statement released by the party’s national publicity secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi.
The National Assembly was criticized by the party for serving as a rubber stamp, claiming that members had neglected their responsibility to shield Nigerians from the effects of unmanageable debt.
The ADC stated that it is extremely concerned about the Tinubu administration’s risky borrowing obsession and that what Nigerians are seeing after a new $21 billion in foreign loans was approved is nothing less than a calculated decision to mortgage the nation’s future in order to cover up today’s mistakes.
Nigeria borrowed N4.7 trillion annually on average under President Buhari, and even that raised a lot of concerns. Under President Tinubu, however, annual borrowing has increased to N49.8 trillion.
The amount borrowed by this administration in the last two years is more than ten times that of Buhari. If things continue this way, Nigeria’s entire public debt will surpass N200 trillion before the year is over. ADC stated, “Those in authority seem to have no brakes, believing they can borrow their way out of economic issues that require more thoughtful choices and greater fiscal restraint.
The party pointed out that supporters of this administration want to claim that Tinubu borrows less money ($1.7 billion a year) than Buhari ($4.15).
But as soon as we include the exchange rate, that reasoning falls apart. These same loans are costing the nation far more now that the naira is in free fall, once more as a result of this administration’s bad policy decisions. Tinubu’s annual foreign borrowing, when translated to naira, is N25.5 trillion, which is greater than Buhari’s average of N2.2 trillion. The party emphasized that what we are seeing is the widening of a debt trap brought on by poor economic management and a decentralized currency.
“Since the APC took power in 2015, our total public debt has increased from N12.6 trillion to over N149 trillion in 2025,” the party continued. The last ten years of the APC have seen the borrowing of more than $35 billion from external lenders alone. This is over twelve times larger, and our World Bank debt has tripled in just ten years. Our Eurobond debt has increased by a factor of eleven. The current administration now seeks to increase borrowing, raising the cap on our foreign debt to $67 billion.
“Our children will be left to cover debts they did not incur or profit from as a result of this careless borrowing, which is continuing year after year without any plan to pay it back or any attempt to spend it wisely.
The debt has kept growing, but infrastructure has remained inadequate, hospitals are still ill-equipped, universities are still woefully underfunded, and the electrical supply is still subpar. Now, what are the precise purposes of these loans? The National Assembly is expected to ask this question by Nigerians. Rather than advocating for the Nigerian people, it has persisted in approving these loans without raising difficult questions or requiring a strategy.
“The Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria claims that the cost of Tinubu’s borrowing is already destroying the foundation of our sector. Small companies are no longer able to obtain finance. Investors are withdrawing and losing faith in the market. And the government is turning to regular Nigerian households and taxing them excessively because debt payment now accounts for more than 60% of our national income.
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The recent devaluation of the naira should have decreased the need for external borrowing, but the government has used it as an excuse to borrow even more, according to ADC, while other nations are struggling to lower their debts.
The group has insisted that Nigerians have a right to know the conditions, interest rates, due dates, and ultimate beneficiaries of every loan agreements that the APC and the Tinubu administration have signed over the last 10 years.
In addition to calling on President Tinubu to halt the practice of borrowing to cover policy failures, ADC urged him to invest prudently and spend properly in order to curb this fiscal irresponsibility and instead concentrate on substantive reform.
