African Democratic Congress Flays Tinubu Over New N1.15tr Loan

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the Federal Government’s approval of a fresh N1.15 trillion domestic loan, describing it as another sign of inconsistency and fiscal recklessness under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

The opposition party said the new loan exposes the government’s failure to match words with action, particularly after claiming earlier in the year that Nigeria had met and surpassed its non-oil revenue target of N20.59 trillion by August 2025.

In a statement signed by its national publicity secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the latest borrowing shows that the administration is “borrowing against its own words”, warning that if all the loan requests for 2025 are approved, Nigeria’s total public debt could climb to N193 trillion.

Quoting verified figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), the party noted that as of June 30, 2025, the country’s debt profile already stood at N152.4 trillion, comprising N80.55 trillion in domestic debt and N71.85 trillion in external liabilities.

“The latest approval of N1.15 trillion in fresh borrowing by the APC-led government exposes the contradictions and dangerous fiscal trajectory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration,” the statement read in part.

According to the ADC, the government cannot continue to claim improved revenue performance while depending heavily on loans to finance its programmes.

“A government that says it has achieved record-breaking revenue should not be living on borrowed funds. This is reckless debt accumulation wrapped in propaganda,” Abdullahi said.

The party added that the government had earlier promised to phase out domestic borrowing and rely more on internally generated revenue, but the continued reliance on loans shows that the administration’s economic direction has become increasingly unstable.

It also expressed disappointment in the National Assembly for what it described as its “rubber-stamp” role in approving repeated loan requests without due scrutiny, despite the growing hardship across the country.

“The Tinubu administration claims that headline inflation has dropped to 18.02 percent and food inflation to 16.87 percent as of September 2025, yet the reality in the markets is different. Prices of food and basic items have continued to rise. Nigerians are not feeling any relief — they are experiencing economic suffocation,” the ADC stated.

The party said the borrowing culture under the current administration has become unsustainable and that it reflects what it called “a government trapped in confusion — where one hand borrows blindly while the other preaches fiscal prudence.”

The ADC urged civil society organisations, the international financial community, and Nigerians to hold the government accountable for its financial decisions. It called for an immediate suspension of all non-critical new loans and a full publication of all revenue inflows and debt disbursements for the year.

The party further demanded an independent verification of the government’s non-oil revenue claims and the establishment of a legally binding debt ceiling to prevent what it described as “the abuse of the national purse.”

“Nigerians are watching as their collective future is being mortgaged. The President must come clean to the people. We cannot borrow our way out of a crisis that is being fuelled by poor economic management,” the ADC added.