The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has raised alarm over Nigeria’s ballooning debt burden, demanding a full-scale audit of all loans secured by the Federal Government in the past decade, amid projections that the nation’s public debt could surpass ₦200 trillion before the end of 2025.
In a strongly worded statement on Sunday, the party accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of plunging the country deeper into what it described as a “fiscal disaster,” following the National Assembly’s approval of an additional $21 billion foreign loan request.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, described the continued borrowing trend as “fiscal vandalism,” and alleged that President Tinubu’s government had outpaced previous administrations in piling up debts without any visible economic recovery or infrastructure improvement.
“What Nigerians are witnessing is nothing short of a calculated effort to mortgage the future of the country,” the statement read.
“This administration has borrowed more in two years than the Buhari government did in eight, without any measurable impact on infrastructure, education, or healthcare.”
According to the ADC, while former President Muhammadu Buhari borrowed an average of ₦4.7 trillion annually, President Tinubu’s government has escalated borrowing to an average of ₦49.8 trillion per year — a more than tenfold increase.
The party argued that despite claims of smaller dollar-denominated loans, the depreciating value of the naira means the cost of servicing these loans has become crushing.
“When converted to naira, Tinubu’s annual foreign borrowings now average ₦25.5 trillion, far exceeding Buhari’s annual average of ₦2.2 trillion,” the party noted.
“The implication is clear: Nigeria is spiraling into a debt trap with no viable plan for escape.”
The ADC further claimed that Nigeria’s total public debt, which stood at ₦12.6 trillion in 2015 when the All Progressives Congress (APC) assumed power, had now risen to over ₦149 trillion — a nearly 12-fold increase.
It alleged that external debt, especially from institutions like the World Bank and Eurobond markets, had grown exponentially, with debt to the World Bank alone tripling and Eurobond liabilities growing elevenfold within a decade.
The party also accused the National Assembly of abandoning its constitutional oversight role, acting instead as a “rubber stamp” to executive borrowing requests.
“They continue to approve these loans without asking hard questions, without demanding transparency, and without standing up for the Nigerian people,” the ADC said.
Raising concerns about the burden on future generations, the party lamented that despite the surge in borrowings, critical sectors remain underfunded.
“Universities are still struggling, hospitals are ill-equipped, electricity remains unreliable, and small businesses are choking under high taxes and lack of credit access,” it added.
Quoting the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria, the ADC said the Tinubu administration’s borrowing spree was suffocating small businesses and driving away investors, while over 60 percent of national income is now being used to service debt.
The ADC concluded by calling on President Tinubu to halt what it termed “fiscal recklessness” and focus instead on genuine economic reforms.
It demanded full disclosure of all loan agreements signed in the last 10 years, including the terms, interest rates, repayment timelines, and recipients.
“Nigerians deserve to know the truth about these loans. The time for secrecy is over. We cannot continue to borrow to cover failed policies,” the statement said.
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