The African Democratic Congress (ADC) said President Bola Tinubu has already surpassed his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, in mortgaging Nigeria’s future through foreign loans, in the name of economic reform.
ADC, in a statement by the interim National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, noted that while Nigeria under Buhari borrowed an average of ₦4.7 trillion per year, it has jumped to ₦49.8 trillion per year under Tinubu.
“In just two years, this administration has borrowed more than ten times what Buhari borrowed in the same timeframe,” the party said.
It expressed the fear that at the rate Tinubu is going, Nigeria’s total public debt may reach ₦200 trillion before the end of the year.
“We are speeding toward a financial cliff, and those in charge seem to have no brakes, thinking they can borrow their way out of economic problems that require more thoughtful actions and greater fiscal discipline,” ADC said.
The party noted that the All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters always argue that Tinubu’s borrowing is smaller in dollar terms — “just $1.7 billion annually, compared to Buhari’s $4.15 billion” — but however said such submission is false, in the face of the current exchange rate.
According to the ADC, with the naira now in free fall, due to Tinubu’s poor policy choices, “these same loans are costing the country far more.”
“When converted to naira, Tinubu’s foreign borrowing amounts to ₦25.5 trillion every year, more than Buhari’s annual average of ₦2.2 trillion.
What we are witnessing is the deepening of a debt trap created by economic mismanagement and a collapsed currency.”
ADC noted that since the APC took over in 2015, Nigeria’s total public debt has grown from ₦12.6 trillion to over ₦149 trillion in 2025.
“Over $35 billion has been borrowed from external lenders alone in the last decade of the APC.
This is nearly 12 times more — in just 10 years, our debt to the World Bank has tripled.”
The party stated that what Nigeria owes in Eurobonds has grown eleven times over.
“And now, this government wants to borrow even more, pushing our foreign debt ceiling to $67 billion.”
According to the ADC, APC’s reckless borrowing with no plan to repay it, and no effort to use it productively, will leave future generations repaying debts that they did not incur or benefit from.
It added that while the debts have continued to increase:
- Infrastructures have remained poor
- Universities still grossly underfunded
- Hospitals ill-equipped
- Electricity supply as poor as ever
The party therefore wondered what exactly these loans were used for.
“This is the question that Nigerians expect the National Assembly to ask.
Instead, it has continued to approve these loans without asking the hard questions, without demanding a plan, and without standing up for the Nigerian people,” ADC said.
It added that the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria said that the cost of Tinubu’s borrowing is already crushing the very backbone of the nation’s economy.
“Small businesses can no longer access credit.
Investors are losing confidence and pulling out.
And because over 60 percent of our national income is now used to service debt, the government is turning to ordinary Nigerian families and taxing them beyond their limits,” the party regretted.
It stated that while other countries were fighting to reduce their debts, the APC is taking out more loans, adding that the recent devaluation of the naira should have reduced the need for external borrowing, but the government has treated it as an excuse to borrow even more.
ADC therefore demands:
- Full disclosure of all loan agreements signed over the past 10 years by the APC and the Tinubu government, because “Nigerians have a right to know the terms, interest rates, payment timelines, and final recipients of the loans.”
It also called on President Tinubu to:
- Put an end to the fiscal recklessness of his government
- Focus instead on meaningful reform
- Invest wisely
- Spend responsibly
“The era of borrowing to cover policy failures must come to an end,” ADC said.
