The Unified Nigeria Youth Forum (UNYF) has strongly criticised the federal government’s fresh bid to secure a $24 billion loan, describing it as reckless and insensitive in the face of widespread poverty and hunger nationwide.
According to available data, the proposed borrowing includes $21.54 billion in U.S. dollars, £2.2 billion in British pounds, and ¥65 million in Japanese yen, amounting to roughly $24 billion when converted.
In Abuja, UNYF President, Comrade Toriah Olajide Filani, expressed alarm over the loan request, likening the amount to the estimated net worth of Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, which stands at about $24–25 billion.
He argued that the government’s plan to borrow such a vast sum in one tranche raises serious concerns about transparency and fiscal responsibility.
“This amount equals what Dangote built over decades of hard work and investment. Yet, the government wants to acquire it overnight through debt, likely to fund luxury lifestyles, not meaningful development,” Filani said.
He cited recent expenditures—including N160 million vehicles for lawmakers, N90 billion hajj subsidies, N21 billion for the Vice President’s residence renovation, and a N980 million presidential car fleet—as evidence of misplaced priorities.
“You can’t borrow money and buy a $150 million private jet. You can’t be borrowing and living large,” he said.
Filani urged the government to provide tracking identification for all publicly funded projects, insisting that transparency must precede any further borrowing.
He described the borrowing plan as a betrayal of public trust, especially when millions of Nigerians face hunger, poor healthcare, lack of access to education, and crumbling infrastructure.
Filani said that despite Nigeria’s abundant resources, the country remains trapped in poverty due to poor economic management and a failure to maximise domestic revenue sources.
He called on the government to prioritise the monetisation of idle public assets and the productive use of the country’s vast arable land, particularly in states such as Niger, Taraba, Benue, Kaduna, and Nasarawa.
“The Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, the abandoned National Library, and other unused assets in Lagos and other cities could fetch billions if transparently leased or sold,” he said.
Filani also renewed calls for full implementation of the Oronsaye Report, which recommends reducing federal agencies from 541 to 161—reforms he said could save Nigeria over N1 trillion annually.
“It’s contradictory to back cost-cutting reforms while still pursuing loans that threaten economic stability,” he said.
With the national debt reportedly exceeding N140 trillion, Filani warned that continued borrowing without reform risks economic collapse.
He called on the National Assembly, civil society, labour unions, and the general public to resist further loan approvals, urging a national consensus around responsible governance instead.
“Nigerian youth will not stay silent while their future is mortgaged. UNYF and its partners will keep mobilising for transparency, accountability, and national interest,” he said.
