ABUJA: The African Democratic Congress ADC has condemned the President Bola Tinubu administration’s escalating borrowing, labeling it “fiscal vandalism”.
The condemnation comes in the wake of the National Assembly’s approval of another $21 billion in foreign loans for the administration.
ADC warned that this new debt surge will push Nigeria’s public debt beyond N200 trillion by year-end, without commensurate development or economic recovery to justify it.
In a statement by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC accused President Tinubu of “mortgaging the country’s future” through unprecedented debt accumulation, significantly surpassing his predecessor.
Spokesman of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Felix Morka did not respond to media enquiries.
ADC in the statement also criticized the National Assembly for acting as a “rubber stamp,” asserting that lawmakers have abandoned their duty to protect Nigerians from unsustainable debt.
The ADC expressed deep concern over what it termed the Tinubu administration’s “dangerous obsession with borrowing,” describing the latest $21 billion foreign loan approval as a “calculated decision to mortgage the country’s future just to cover up the failures of today.”
Highlighting a drastic increase in annual borrowing, the ADC stated that while the Buhari administration borrowed an average of ₦4.7 trillion per year, the Tinubu administration’s annual borrowing has surged to ₦49.8 trillion. This, the party claims, means the current government has borrowed over ten times what Buhari borrowed in the same timeframe, putting Nigeria on a path towards a “financial cliff.”
Addressing arguments that Tinubu’s borrowing is smaller in dollar terms ($1.7 billion annually compared to Buhari’s $4.15 billion), the ADC countered that the Naira’s free fall, attributed to the current administration’s “poor policy choices,” makes these loans far costlier when converted to Naira.
The party calculated Tinubu’s foreign borrowing at ₦25.5 trillion annually in naira terms, significantly higher than Buhari’s average of ₦2.2 trillion, indicating a deepening “debt trap created by economic mismanagement and a collapsed currency.”
The ADC noted that since the APC took power in 2015, Nigeria’s total public debt has ballooned from N12.6 trillion to over N149 trillion in 2025.
Over $35 billion has been borrowed from external lenders alone in the last decade, with debt to the World Bank tripling and Eurobond debt growing elevenfold.
The party noted the government’s intention to further increase the foreign debt ceiling to $67 billion.
The ADC argued that this “reckless borrowing,” without a repayment plan or productive utilization, burdens future generations with debts they did not incur.
It questioned the purpose of these loans, given persistent poor infrastructure, underfunded universities, ill-equipped hospitals, and unreliable electricity supply.
ADC criticized the National Assembly for continuously approving loans “without asking the hard questions, without demanding a plan, and without standing up for the Nigerian people.”
According to the ADC, citing the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria, the cost of Tinubu’s borrowing is already crippling the economy’s backbone, with small businesses unable to access credit and investors losing confidence.
With over 60% of national income now dedicated to debt servicing, the government is resorting to over-taxing ordinary Nigerian families.
While other nations strive to reduce debt, the ADC observed that the APC is taking out more loans, treating the recent Naira devaluation as an excuse for further borrowing rather than a reason to curb it.
The opposition party also demanded a full disclosure of all loan agreements signed over the past 10 years by both the APC and the Tinubu government, asserting Nigerians’ right to know the terms, interest rates, payment timelines, and recipients of these loans.
The ADC called on President Tinubu to cease “fiscal recklessness” and instead focus on meaningful reform through wise investment and responsible spending, stating that “the era of borrowing to cover policy failures must come to an end.”
